Sector —
Arts & Culture
We helped create —
Digital, environmental, identity, naming
Lido —
For the love of film.
Eddie Tamir, owner of Classic Cinema in Elsternwick and Cameo in Belgrave, believes deeply in the power of film and has spent his entire working life endeavouring to bring cinema (in all its former glory) back to life. When Eddie speaks cinema, his approach is infectious and from the outset, we were convinced by the potential in his vision.
The idea of opening a suburban cinema in 2015 seems fairly risky – but this was the challenge we gave ourselves when Eddie approached Round to work on his new venture.
He had acquired the New Glen Picture Theatre, a disused cinema complex in the heart of Glenferrie Road, which had sat dormant since it’s closure in 1956. He had plans for eight screen artiplex showing both commercial and new release art house films, but no name and no identity.
We began by looking at the history of cinema and film and the iconography associated with the medium. When naming the space, we wanted to find a connection with the building’s past that would resonate in a contemporary context, with a contemporary audience. Our research led us all to Lido, a cabaret group that used to perform in the theatre in the 1930s. It was a perfect nod to the past.
Throughout the process we realised that the digital world had offered us ease and efficiency, but had concurrently taken away a fundamental principal of the cinema itself – the shared human experience. To get people to come out of their homes, we needed to heighten this notion and create an identity and space that truly represented the love of cinema.
Our identity and extensive signage system took its cue from historic cinema paraphernalia, referencing old scripts, film posters and iconic cinematheques from around the world. Working with Aidan Halloran from ITN Architects and Ross Gooding from Olax, we created an interior and experience that spoke to a contemporary audience, with local beers and coffee, a weekend jazz venue and mainland Australia’s only permanent rooftop screen. The result was an identity that strengthened Eddie’s vision and offer and which we hoped would resonate with lovers of film.
Above —
Projections lead the way
“Round managed to peel back the many layers of Lido’s past and built them back up to create something that felt cinematically referential and utterly new world.”
— Eddie Tamir