Sala Equis, renovation of the oldest x cinema in Madrid by Plantea Estudio

Description of project by Plantea Estudio

Sala Equis is a set of spaces collected in the structure of the old cinema Duque de Alba. This had been closed in 2016 of room X that occupied it. La Cultural Contemporánea, developer of El Imparcial, restaurant, publications and design shop, and art gallery located in the annex to the cinema, wanted to turn it into a new concept of cinema. The idea encompassed the traditional version of the cinema together with other activities around this main function. Live music, circus performances, presentations, conferences or exhibitions are also possible, all accompanied by the drink and food that is served in the different areas.

Plantea has shaped this concept. Where there was a room with an amphitheater for 300 people, with a small ambigú and an entrance through a passage under El Imparcial, there are now four different spaces.

The existing gallery has been transformed into a multifunctional space, illuminated during the day by the large skylight open on the roof. On the screen, located where the original, there is a continuous projection, but during the week there are other activities, especially live music. Under the screen is the bar and the small kitchen of the bar, and in front of it, the public sitting in the stands of plywood board, the fixed benches of iron pipe and cushions, the hammocks of pine and canvas or the swings of 11 meters high, creates as a small public square with the screen and the bar as attention centers.

The old amphitheater has been converted into a movie theater for 64 people, completely covered in dark earth velvet and equipped with the best sound and projection systems. The running benches and the auxiliary tables provide carefreeness and comfort, compared to traditional cinema.

Next to this room, the old ambigú now seems like a cocktail bar, collected in a darker atmosphere, in which to be able to have more intimacy.

The access passage is now a place with a bench and tables, as an intermediate space between the street and the inner square, where to wait for friends or find out about the proposals of the interior.

Plantea has designed environments ranging from the spontaneity of the square and the passageway, with industrial materials combined with the bare walls of the old structure, to the sophistication of the cinema and the ambigú, dominated by velvet and red lights that tint the atmosphere and the public.

The vegetation, projected in collaboration with Rent a Garden, brings character of 'exterior' to the square, and the signs, like the old American cinemas, returning a classic tone to the concept.

The intention has been to provide the available space with current uses with current materials and furniture, always in balance with the memory of the existing.

The construction has been carried out with Payser, responsible for the reform of other successful premises in Madrid, including El Imparcial.