Tato Architects Relocates Kyoto Minami Kaikan Movie Theater into Former Bank

The Kyoto Minami Kaikan movie theater, a long-established venue with 55 years of history in Kyoto, has been relocated and renovated into a building originally constructed as a bank in 1993. The project, completed in 2022, was designed by Tato Architects, led by Yo Shimada, with a design team including Yasue Imai, Akira Yasuda, Takeshi Oka, and Satoshi Oyama. The renovation covers an area of 721 square meters and was curated by Miwa Negoro. The architectural challenge was to convey both the continuity of the theater's memory in the city and its newness in an era where films can be watched on handheld devices. The project involved collaboration with several engineering and consulting firms: tmsd Takashi Manda Structural Design for structural engineering, Nihon Onkyo Engineering for acoustics, Tanaka Jimusho for mechanical engineering, Yamazaki Setsubi Sekkei for electrical engineering, and Daiko Electric and New Light Pottery for lighting. Photographs of the project were taken by Daici Ano. The project is categorized under Cinema.