INTRODUCTION
Each year in February, Berlin rolls out the
red carpet and life in the city revolves
around the International Film Festival.
Such is the aura and grandeur associated
with this event that all the imagery of this
city seems changed and the festive mood
can be experienced through the lighting
and the big colored banners put up at
various prime locations in the city.
Airports, hotels, theatres are rocked by a
much hyped atmosphere in the presence of
international celebrities who are the center
of media attraction all through the 11 days
of this festival.
View of the general ambience at the
opening ceremony of the Berlin
International Film Festival at Berlinale
Palast.
OBJECTIVE/RELEVANCE
OF THE LITERATURE STUDY
In my attempt to understand the
functioning of an INTERNATIONAL
FILM FESTIVAL, it was important to
study an event that is on a much larger
scale, so that my approach to the design of
this project just not remains limited to its
present scale.
Berlin film festival is next to the Cannes
with respect to the scale and overall
participation recorded in this mega event.
This is a 11 day affair that takes place in
the heart of the city (Berlin) generally in
the first half of February. Potsdamer Platz
is the main venue for the event, though
there are a host of venues that support the
activities taking place in the festival.
The study for this festival is being done to
understand the planning for the event
which would include the inter connectivity
between different functional components
and the architectural significance of the
built mass to the overall ambience of this
festival. Different spaces have to be
examined closely so that the relation of art,
architecture to a film festival can be
inferred to a greater detail. This would
help to appreciate the design more in terms
of the imagery, hence created, in a context
that remains so very important in the
present study.Lastly important conclusions
can be arrived at that can add on to the
missing functional components in the elsewhere and knowing the culture of
present case of the International film other countries through this powerful
festival of India. These would strengthen medium of expression.
the prospects for making IFFI stand out as
a major international film festival in the
times to come.

ORGANIZATION OF THE EVENT

The success of each film festival is
influenced by the amount of international
participation it receives and on the scale at
which the host country holds the event.
And the Berlin festival, over the years has
expanded many folds, adding new venues
to the existing. More and more facilities
have been incorporated into the
Berlinale palast, the main venue for the
programme that makes the event more
screening of movies for the press and
open to the public. And all this while, the
delegates. It has a grand theatre and a
process of screening various movies has
host of ancillary facilities that keep the
been made more systematic and better
venue eventful all throughout the
organized using the latest technology (like
festival.
the e-cards for the access control) to its
Like many other international film
best possible use.
festivals, the Berlin film fest starts with the
New theatres like the multiplex and IMAX
opening ceremony at Berlinale Pallast with
have come up to screen these international
the screening of the premiere movie
movies with the option of side by side
reserved for this grand day. Dignitaries
translations through the attached earphone
and special invitee across the globe have
along your seat. All this has really
the privilege to participate in this function.
promoted the event in a big way as
After this from the next day screening of
language has ceased to be a criteria for
movies starts at the various venues
enjoying a movie from a different country.
reserved for the festival. Potsdamer platz is
Audience have begun to appreciate the
one such area which is pedestrianized
quality of theatre being produced
during the event and has a host of facilities CinemaxX (Cinema7)
that facilitate for the smooth functioning of Cinestar (Cinema2, 3, 7)
the event. It has got multiplex, IMAX, * Repeat screenings: International
shopping malls, film museum etc. that IV) International Forum of New
confuse the visitors with the vast choice of Cinema:
options it offers. CinemaxX(Cinema3),Cinestar (Cinema 8),
The organization of the festival has to be Delphi-Filmpalast,Arsenal Kino,
understood in terms of the various venues Filmkunsthaus Babylon.
and the activities associated with it. This
will be done starting at the macro level and V) Kinderfilmfest
then going in to the micro and having a Zoo-Palast (Cinema 4)
closer look at the various venues in and * Further Premieres and repeat screenings
around the Potsdamer Platz, which at CiemaxX (Cinema 4) and Filmtheater is
remains the focal point. Most of the Friedrichshain.
venues have been spread out and are * Competition 14plus at Zoo-Palast
connected through the shuttles service with (Cinema 4).
the various hotels, where most of the
dignitaries and the guests are staying. VI) Retrospective
CinemaxX (Cinema 4 and 8)
VENUES * Special added attractions at the
I) Official Competition Programme: Filmmuseum
Gala screenings of the films competing for Berlin, Potsdamer straâe 2.
the Golden and Silver Bears: * Repeat screenings at Zeughaus Kino,
Berlinale Palast at Potsdamer Platz Cinestar (Cinema 2), Film-Palast.
* Repeat Screenings: Royal Palast and
International. VII) German Cinema
This section is primarily aimed at fim
II) Berlinale Special: buyers and is only open to accredited
Film-Palast,International Zoo-Palast, festival visitors.CinemaxX (Cinema 1)
Cinestar, Philharmonie.
VIII) Perspektive Deutches Kino
III) Panorama: Cinemax (Cinema 3)
Zoo-Palast Cinema 1 (Panorama Special),
IX) Short Films CinemaxX (Cinema 6)
CinemaxX, located in the Potsdamer
Platz. The main venue for Panorama,
Kinderfimfest, Retrospective, German
Cinema
X) European Film Market
Film screenings and fairground area are
open only for the accredited participants.
CinemaxX(Cinemas 2,10 and studio11 19)
Cinestar (Cinemas 1,2,4,5, and 6)
* Fair stands are located in the atrium of
the Daimer Chrysler building at Potsdamer
Platz.
ARCHITECTURAL VOCABULARY OF
THE BUILT FORM
Most of the buildings stand up with the typical
glasss box architecture relying more on the
interior lighting, for making an impressive
elevation especially during the night. One of
the main venues, the Potsdamer Platz, has
been once a thriving metropolis. But this
square was heavily damaged in the war, and
suffered again when the remaining buildings
were pulled down.
Cinestar, one of the multiplex that is also
the venue for the films screened under
Panorama. The typical glass box
architecture is more of an attraction under
the lights in the night.
to make way for the Berlin Wall’s death strip.
After years of construction the tall new
buildings on the western side of the former
square add a typical cosmopolitan edge to the
city - but will remain an island of modernity
until construction, around the neighboring,
Leipziger Platz links the area up to the rest of
the city. The Sony Centre, with its huge atrium basement level parking. So while the
and sail-roof is the most impressive at night festival is going on most of the area
when the lighting changes color continuously. around the Potsdamer Platz is
pedestranized and the shuttle service is
available for commuters going to for the
far off venues, after every 30 minutes.

Sony Center, with its sail roof is most

impressive of the structures, adapting to
vagaries of the climate.
The area in around the Potsdamer Platz is
part a typical urban fabric that one might
find in any old city. There’s a blend of
different styles, in which each new
building tries to complete with the old
monuments that are part of the history
now. The above picture is from the
Rudolf-von-Gneist street showing an old
cathedral in the background. Parking
problems are common in the area, so most
of the new buildings have gone in for
The roofing system for whole of the sony
center has been designed in a way that
makes use of the intelligent architecture in
which the mechanism is controlled through
thermally operated cells. It’s a huge cable
structure with fins made of fiber, around
the entire circular complex. When the
temperatures fall below the freezing point
and there’s a possibility of snowfall, the
fins open up to form a huge umbrella
hence acting as a shield to entire plazza.
The roofing also acts as a physical
envelope defining the entire space in a
more meaningful way. It is also
responsible for the multi-colored
reflections that can be seen on the facades
of the various buildings that the complex
houses. The glass facade of these
buildings, hence acts as a dynamic
covering to the entire built form changing
under the influence of both the natural
and the artificial light.
The main theatre inside the Sony Center is
the Cine Star IMAX. It’s the venue to the
BerlinaleSpecial, Panorama, Retrospective
and International Forum of New cinema.
The complex also houses a film museum
that highlights the achievements of the
Hollywood stars specially those who came
! "#$
from Germany. Photo stills, footage, set
designs and costumes provide glimpses of
$
what is part of the history of German
Theatre. The museum ends with special
$
effects and a science fiction.

THEATRES
The success of a film festival rests heavily
on the theatres where the films are
screened. So each country tries it’s best to
add new theatres with latest facilities for
the screening of various films. Berlin film
Festival screens most of its movies in the
Multiplex or the IMAX theatres so that the
audience can experience the films with the
! "#$ % %
best sound and picture quality. Seats are
provided with headphones so that films
from other countries can be heard in
German and English.

! "# &'$

Berlinale Palast, hosts the screening of

various movies for the celebrities and the
distinguished guests. It is located near the
Potsdamer Platz & the Grand Hyatt where
most of the celebrities hole up in their feng
shui rooms. The venue hosts both indoor
and outdoor screenings, along with the
press conferences with the stars. The
Media center is stationed here for all the
happenings to be telecast live for the
public on the screens put on the exterior of
this complex. The final prize distribution
which includes both the Golden and the
Silver Bear is held in this venue.
of the quartier while a three-story
restaurant in the rotunda faces the Marlene
Dietrich Platz (at the center of the
drawing). The 440 seats theater is housed
in a sphere of 36 meters in diameter that is
integrated inside of the urban envelope of
the building. The spherical volume of the
theater raises above the building making it
a landmark from afar.

The CineStar IMAX located in the Sony

Center is another theatre which has 10
screens for the screening of both the large
and small format movies for the public.
The ticket sale counter is located alongside
and the booking for the shows can be done ( ) *+$ ! "#

on the card through an electronic control *

device. ' ,

Convertible IMAX Theater )

Located at the center of the urban project ) ) $

developed by Daimler-Benz, as part of the

reconstruction of the Potsdamer Platz in
Berlin, B7 is a 15,600 square meter mixed-
use building comprising of Imax theater, a
restaurant and retail surfaces. The three
floors of retail spaces on which the theater
rests are related to a covered shopping
street placed between adjacent building

Plan of the fifth floor (+23.62M), level of
exit of the theater.
The IMAX Theater is convertible, that is,
there are two screens (and two projection
rooms) inside: a half-spherical screen
rotates to allow a view of a vertical screen.
The sphere is also visible from the street
through a large 1,000 square meter clear
glass façade that is oriented toward
southwest. This glass façade defines an 18
meters high atrium that is the main public
circulation space at the foot of the theater
sphere, 10 meters above street level. The
façade spans 50 meters horizontally. Its
structure is made of three identical light
horizontal cable and strut '
beams'placed
above each other every 4.50 meters,
corresponding with the floor levels inside
the building. As part of the general
architectural and sustainability concept,
the atrium is naturally ventilated. It is
roofed by a long-span hollow steel
structure that is offset from the sphere in
order to allow natural light penetration,
natural ventilation, and the '
reading'of the
continuity of the sphere between inside
and outside. The end facades are clad with
large format ceramic elements in natural
tone while the sphere is clad with blue
green glazed ceramic elements, the
'
sphericality'of which is obtained naturally The photograph of the Sony Center
when fired in the oven, by using under lights. The Golden Bear stands as
appropriate glazes. The structure of the a symbolic representation of the event in
sphere that houses the theater is build in the background of well lit glazed facade
concrete. The spherical form is a 35 meter of the complex. The central water body
diameter PVC textile membrane balloon with the fascinating reflection.
maintained under pressure while concrete
is projected from inside, alternating
projection and installation of rebars. The
sequence shows the balloon being inflated.
PARAMETERS DEFINING
THE EXPRESSION OF THE VENUE
It’s important to list all the parameters that
define the general ambience of the place
and bear a contribution to the festive spirit
of the venue. Maybe the Piazzas, the
hard or the soft landscaping elements, The Piazza in front of the CinemaxX
the floorscape, the lighting, the signage, theatre in the Potsdamer Platz. The
the general imagery, the architectural outdoor sitting spaces make up a good
expression of the buildings, the colour; contrast to the interior of a theatre.
all have a role to play in making the Sitting out in the winter sun and waiting
place lively and creating an interest, for the next show to start, the piazza
more so when you are not sitting in a with it’s eating joints makes for the long
dark theatre watching nothing more intervals between the shows.
than the images being flashed across the
front white screen.

The general ambience varies from venue
to venue. The Berlinale Palast, hosts a
number of red carpet receptions to the
various celebrities and dignitaries, which
is further flared by the multicolored
lighting from the space frames hung atop,
and big screens flashing live images.
The piazzas for the various venues have
been hard landscaped except for some of
the ornamental plantation one might find.
The shopping malls along these piazzas
and in the multiplex – IMAX keep the
visitor’s busy for most of their time.
SCULPTURES- DEFINING
THE IMAGERY
The Potsdamer Platz has a number of
sculptures that make the general imagery
of the place interesting. The main
sculpture that stands out on a very large
scale (picture beneath), is dedicated to
the fall of Berlin Wall and the unification
between the East and The West Germany.
These sculptures add a nice foreground to
the various buildings and are a major
landscaping element in the Piazza’s of
various venues.
THE BUILT FORM
The glass box architecture has made it’s
impact in terms of the architectural
expression of the venue. The Sony center
and the Berlinale Pallast have both used
the material in it’s different
manifestations, the construction employing
the latest that technology has to offer. One
can hardly escape the feeling of awe, once
the sail roof umbrella opens its fins at the
Sony center. The reflections in the glazed
facade of the center cast a long lasting
impression on the visitors. All this adds to
the experience of watching good cinema in
one of the best theatres in the Berlin
International Film Festival.
! The scale of the Sony center and the
built form around this complex make
the Berlin International Film Festival
stand out as an event in a typical urban
context.
! Lighting has been used as one of the
strong elements in making the city to
join the festive spirit for the entire 11
days of the event.
! The cable structure for the roofing of
the Sony Center has been such that
makes the building stand out as a
landmark, and hence easier for the
visitors to identify themselves with the
venue. The complex is well planned in
terms of the recreational spaces like the
Film museum and the shopping malls.
 new domains that create strong visual
impact in the new site.
! The venue has to be such that, different
functional components on the site can be
well knit into a space that is one, like the
one found in Sony Center at the Potsdamer
Platz.
! Lighting is an important constituent at
Berlin Festival, so the excessive use of
glass in the buildings is justified. The
buildings come to life as soon the
artificial light take control over the
natural one.
! Landscaping for the Festival is not just
confined till the venues (the piazzas,
water fountains) but includes sculptures
that form an integral part of the
streetscape and add to the general
imagery.
! Facilities have been developed, like the
film museum in the Sony center along with
the never ending shopping malls, that keep

INFERENCES /CONCLUSIONS the visitors busy for most of their time

! Though the scale for the Berlin outside the theatre.

International Film Festival is many folds ! The European Film Market is the only

as compared to the International Film venue which lacks architectural character,

Festival of India but there needs to be as the temporary facility is put up in a

developed, a sense of strong imagery, like commercial space with the low height

the one found in the former. Architecture Partitions.

has a big role to play, going beyond the

traditional limits, and venturing into