Conservation and Renewal
CINEMA CITY, NORWICH
CLIENT: NORFOLK AND NORWICH FILM THEATRE
LISTED GRADE I
The future of Norwich Cinema City as the regional film theatre for Norwich and Norfolk was secured when it was redeveloped from a single-screen venue to one with three new digital screens.
The cinema occupies a converted medieval hall house, Listed Grade I, which was extended in the 1920s by notable local architect Edward Boardman to create an assembly hall. This was in turn converted into a single screen when Norwich Cinema City took up residence here in the 1970s.
The challenge was to provide three screens in a manner that respected the historic significance and setting of the medieval building. Excavation created space for the additional screens, below a main screen similar in size and capacity to the original.
The refurbished café bar and restaurant in the medieval hall open out onto a courtyard which provides an oasis of calm in the city centre.
“That the project came to fruition was due in no small part to the sheer professionalism, expertise and dedication of Burrell Foley Fischer.
The architectural design of the new Cinema City was and is first class and the cinema today is a roaring success – a popular venue not only for cinemagoers but also for all those who wish to experience the unique buildings with their bar and restaurant facilities. It is well and truly on the map as a key cultural asset for Norwich and the wider region. ”
