Storbiografens miljöer

Sammanfattning: This dissertation focuses on the architecture and the artistic decoration within Swedish cinemas during the period 1915–1939. The cinema is considered to be one of the many new building types from the 20th century. The era of the purpose-built cinema in Sweden began around 1910. The aim of this dissertation is to deal with the cinema as a building type and to discuss the cinema as a setting for the filmgoer.The examples of the 1910’s and 1920’s are characterised by their integrated exterior; the manner in which the cinema merges into the cityscape. In the evenings, when audiences gathered at the cinemas, the differences between contemporary theatres and concert-halls became evident. Upon entering the cinema, one’s passage towards the auditorium took one through a sequence of rooms, including the booking office, the cloakroom, and the foyer. The spatial dramaturgy of the cinema is that of the concert hall and the theatre. The artistic decoration of the cinemas of the 1910’s and 1920’s is characterised by attempts at an iconography of motion pictures, in contrast to the established symbols of the theatre. The examples from the 1930’s are characterised by the cinemas’ distinct imprint on the city. Neon-lights, canopies, doors and walls of glass within the cinemas led the way. Artistic decoration within the cinemas of the 1930’s is scarce. Attempts on creating an iconography of the cinema are few. Instead, the foyers are decorated with the posters and photographic portraits of movie-stars.A common feature of cinemas from the 1930’s is that the passage to the auditorium is short. A vestibule is the only space the visitor passes. The spatial dramaturgy of the cinema is different from contemporary concert-halls and theatres. This dissertation demonstrates a substantial shift concerning the cinema as a building type. When one considers cinemas to be composed of a sequence of rooms for the visitor to pass through in comparison to concert halls and theatres, important differences stand out. Thus, the cinema presents itself as a building type with specific functions as well as a specific spatial dramaturgy.