Cinema Circuit of Penedo

Penedo is a historic colonial city in the Northeast of Brazil. It was once inserted in the main route of national cinematography, during the 70s. Penedo was the scene of great festivals. However, the closing of its cinemas due to the lack of conservation of the properties, there has been a decline in the expression of the Seventh Art in the region.

The intervention areas are located in three points of a study area, within the historic centre, in order to create a circuit, interconnected by the proposed modes: an electric tram, referring to the old and traditional tram in Penedo that enchanted when moving through the narrow streets of the city; and a cycle lane, in order to organise the flow of a mode already widely used in the region. Nevertheless, the new design of the spaces mainly values pedestrians, encouraging them to take a stroll around the city. Intervention area 01 includes the restoration of Cine Penedo, with art deco style architecture, dated in 1956. The redesign of Marechal Deodoro square, an important urban facility, allows the creation of new public spaces favourable to the expression of culture and art. The creation of a pocket park makes the public space invade a currently empty lot and grant the possibility of outdoor film screenings and, finally, an abandoned colonial mansion, receives a gallery with the available collection related to the Penedo cinema. Intervention area 02 aims to bring cinema closer to the reality of the environmental impacts which São Francisco River has been through, with the intention that the city turns to the river and awakens to the importance of preserving it. Through a structure that invades the river, the design invites the positioning and appropriation of the ferry, temporarily turning it into itinerant cinema on festival days, taking the seventh art to the other riverside cities. Intervention area 03 takes place in a lot on the city shore, which reveals the marks of an old townhouse. Currently, there's only the single-storey facade left of the (original) historic building, composed of elements of colonial architecture, the project intends to offer a structure that includes part of the programme for the Federal University of Alagoas' (UFAL) film school.