Studio We Live turns 1950s Chongqing cinema into teahouse and food market

Chinese firm Studio We Live has transformed an abandoned 1957 cinema in Chongqing, China, into a teahouse and food market called Jiangling Teahouse. The building, originally the staff cinema of Jiangling Machinery Factory in Wucun, Dashiba, was abandoned in 2011 and used as a parking lot. The renovation preserved dilapidated walls, original roof trusses, and old cinema seats, adding stairs and platforms for varied elevations. A wooden canopy of recycled timber was added at the entrance, and the facade's white tiles and green glass were kept. Inside, the lobby features exposed timber and concrete beams, red curtains, and rough brick walls. Antiques from the cinema, including wooden cabinets, film reels, and projector lens covers, are displayed in the Jiangling Memory area. The tea counter was assembled from old materials. The main hall has public seating facing a screen with a dark red curtain, surrounded by food vendor stalls built with wood shingles, bamboo, and poles. Three stepped rows of original seats were merged into a wooden terrace, with one section retained and its floor painted red. Original columns made from artillery barrels support the mezzanine. New steel staircases and platforms connect ground seating to the upper mezzanine. The projection room on the second floor has a vaulted green ceiling for future exhibitions. Studio We Live, founded by Weitao Li and Bo Li in 2017, has completed other urban regeneration projects in Chongqing.