Busan Cinema Center

Character

Busan Cinema Center's Big Roof spans a public plaza on the eastern side of Centum City, covering outdoor screenings and festival crowds with an 85-metre cantilever. Around it, the district combines film institutions, convention halls, media offices and some of Busan's largest retail buildings

Centum City grew on land left vacant after Busan's airport moved to Gimhae. BEXCO, cultural facilities and commercial development arrived first; the Cinema Center opened in 2011 as a permanent home for the Busan International Film Festival and a year-round film venue

Under the Big Roof, BIFF's outdoor theater and Red Carpet Area share the same sheltered ground that people cross on ordinary days. The 85-metre cantilever keeps a very large public area under cover for screenings, ceremonies and daily foot traffic

The experience

The Cinema Center is the cultural anchor. Cine Mountain contains indoor cinemas and performance spaces; the outdoor theater and plazas sit under the roof structures; BIFF Hill houses festival and film-related functions. Films and performances continue throughout the year outside festival season

Beyond the Cinema Center, BEXCO, media and content institutions, offices and major retail sit around the same station area. Shinsegae Centum City connects directly to the subway and is only a short walk from the film complex

From the plaza below, the Big Roof’s unsupported edge projects far beyond the supporting cone, and the LED-covered underside becomes a huge illuminated ceiling after dark

History

This part of Haeundae was once Busan's airport. After air operations moved to Gimhae, the former airport land remained largely empty until redevelopment accelerated around the turn of the century. BEXCO and cultural facilities helped establish Centum City before offices, media companies and major retail filled in around them

Busan selected Coop Himmelb(l)au's Cinema Center design through an international competition in 2005. The building opened on 29 September 2011 as BIFF's purpose-built main venue, and that year's festival immediately moved its opening and closing ceremonies into the new complex

Film activity in Centum City now extends beyond the festival venue. The district also contains the Busan Cultural Contents Complex and the Busan Film & Audiovisual Industry Center, placing production and industry organizations close to the cinemas and festival spaces

Before you go\n\nBusan Cinema Center carries the district's film-and-architecture focus; BEXCO and Shinsegae are separate neighboring destinations. Screenings and performances run on their own schedules, as do the convention and retail venues.\n\nCentum City Station on Metro Line 2 serves the whole cluster. From there, the Cinema Center, BEXCO and major retail are all within the same walkable district.