The Film Theatre Deptford is located on Convoys Wharf along the Thames and parallel to the historic footbridge. The intention of the building is to celebrate the experience of watching film in a spectacular sequences of spaces and to allow the medium of film to be experienced in different ways. In relation to the historic site, as a former Royal dockyard and its, now rough, and somewhat neglected character which is worth preserving, the building is not intended to make itself too important.
The funnel-shaped staircase, which leads into the Foyer, is designed to literally immerse the visitor in the building. By descending, the viewer enters a new „imaginary“ world. The narrower the space gets, the darker it becomes. It thus creates a transition and prepares the visitor for the black rooms that follow: A video art exhibition, the Black Samowar bar, the corridor light installation and three cinema halls.
Everyone has different ways of reliving or processing the film experience. Some want to withdraw and reflect on the experience themselves, others want to talk about it and dive deeper into the experience with additional background information. The Deptford Film Theatre is designed to provide space for both types of visitors. When the credits have rolled the screen raises in the cinema space and people can exit right into the courtyard garden behind it that is enclosed by Arcades. In the “contemplative” garden visitors are invited to linger and stroll and reflect on the film.
The Jazz Bar and the Lecture Hall are designed for talks, presentations and events related to the films. The exiting space is dedicated to the emergence and ascent from the world of film. Instead of a staircase, there are two large ramps that literally stage this motion. The movement on a ramp is much slower compared to a staircase, so that the visitor has enough time to get back into the world outside the film theatre.