Digital LED screens and dramatic lighting complement the city warehouse feel.
Chapman Taylor has designs on cineplexes
01 April 2021
Capman Taylor, a leading global architect and masterplanner, has announced that work is in full swing on seven new cineplexes of Saudi Arabia’s homegrown cinema brand, Muvi, with the first one in Buraydah city set to open this month.
Established in 2019 in Riyadh, Muvi Cinemas offers moviegoers an array of viewing options that range from Xperience, ScreenX, Dolby Cinema, and Samsung Onyx theaters. Following the lifting of the ban on cinemas in 2018, the very next year Chapman Taylor was signed up by the first Saudi-owned cinema chain to design and deliver a series of state-of-the art cinemas for the Muvi Cinemas brand.
The first of these cineplexes opened in August 2019 at The Mall of Arabia, which, at that time, was the largest cinema in the kingdom. Several more are now open, including at Mall of Dhahran (currently the largest cinema in the country by seat count) while several more are under construction, some to complete this year and more to open subsequently.
Chapman Taylor points out that the designs for the cutting-edge cinema complexes have a theme of urban downtown, with the intention of creating a dynamic, modern and innovative cinema experience. Internal spaces are characterised by an industrial, yet luxurious, material palette, including timber, exposed steelwork, exposed brickwork and an exposed concrete floor. Digital LED screens and dramatic lighting installations complement the city warehouse feel, providing a strong visual identity for the developments, it states.
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The Mall of Arabia facility... the first Muvi cinema designed by Chapman Taylor. |
Announcing its big Saudi plans, Chapman Taylor says the extraordinary expansion of cinema continues at a steady pace in the kingdom despite the pandemic with Muvi gearing up for the launch of its first cineplex, Muvi Nakheel Plaza, Buraydah. Located in the largest city in Al Qassim province, it will be a six-screen cinema complex that can accommodate 831 moviegoers. The offer includes an Xperience screen, providing the ultimate-big screen experience.
Other projects include:
• Muvi Tala Mall, Riyadh: Located at Tala Mall on King Abdul Aziz Road, this will be the first boutique cinema in Saudi Arabia. The compact cinema, which opens in May, will offer four screens, accommodating 383 people.
• Muvi Salaam Mall, Riyadh will be a 3,274-sq-m complex, in the Alawali area on the outskirts of Riyadh, offering eight standard screens and 1,056 seats.
• Muvi Atelier La Vie, Jeddah: For this ultra-VIP, 204-seat cinema, Chapman Taylor has developed a new concept design to add diversity to the Jeddah offering, a city which already boasts three Muvi locations. The four-screen venue offers a lounge style, with luxury seating and an outdoor food and beverage area, creating a five-star feel for moviegoers seeking Saudi Arabia’s most luxurious cinema experience.
• Muvi Khaleej Mall, Riyadh: It will be a 3,269-sq-m addition to the Muvi Cinemas portfolio in Riyadh, where there are three existing Muvi locations and three others under construction. The venue will offer nine standard screens, catering for up to 975 visitors.
• Muvi Mega City Walk, Taif: This 4,196-sq-m development is the first Muvi Cinemas venue in Taif that offers 882 seats and 10 standard cinemas.
• Muvi Cinemas, Onaizah: This dedicated cinema building in Onaizah in Al Qassim Province is capable of accommodating 1,287 people across eight theatres. The cinema will be open to moviegoers later this year.
