From bank palace to movie house - FOJAB has designed the new Kino

On March 15, the doors to the new Kino movie house will open in the middle of Lund. The movie theater has expanded into a magnificent former bank palace and also been supplemented with a bistro. FOJAB has designed the remodeling where unexpected finds along the way have influenced the design.

Folkets Bio, which runs the Kino cinema in Lund, has long had plans to expand. The ambition to become a movie house like Hagabion in Gothenburg and Capitol in Stockholm has been around for more than ten years. The architectural firm FOJAB has been involved as an advisor all the way and has developed several proposals for the original premises.

Holistic solution
When the opportunity arose three years ago to expand into the magnificent bank palace next door, many pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Together with Folkets Bio and the property owner Stena Fastigheter, FOJAB has created a complete solution, a complete movie house with four movie theaters of different sizes, stages for talks, lectures and live music as well as a bistro. FOJAB has also developed the interior design concept and carried out parts of the interior design assignment.

Making the building and the site accessible to the public has been central to the renovation. The starting point was to retain as much as possible of Carl Bergsten's National Romantic bank from 1912, both in terms of material and potential. The bank hall with its beautiful, arched glass ceiling has become the heart of the new movie house. The large arched windows, which during the bank's time were largely shuttered and protected from view, have been opened up so that passers-by on the pedestrian street can see into the bistro.

A journey of discovery
"Working on the bank has been a journey of discovery," says Jens Dymling, architect in charge at FOJAB. "You could sense that there were probably treasures in the form of solid materials and lavish details. But much was hidden behind panels, ceilings and floors. After all these years, no one really knew what was behind them.

- Under one ceiling was a cross vault. In the staircase was coal marble and in the bank vault we found another marble floor with island stone on top. The parts that could be saved have been moved up one floor to the large foyer.

There were also two works of wall art previously hidden from the public that have been given more prominent places. A wall panel in intarsia by Rudolf Persson in 1949 with Lund motifs and another work of art in etched glass from Orrefors Glasbruk by Sven Palmqvist in 1950 with an engraving by Gösta Elgström. Also with figurative, local motifs.

Many solutions in the building have been worked out as new findings have been made.

- There were structures that were not relevant, pipes with unclear functions and walls that we thought were load-bearing but were not," says Jens.

Difficult journey
The road to opening has been long and not least financially tricky. Folkets Bio has met the municipality's funding requirements thanks in part to sponsors and a successful Kickstarter campaign. Many people have become involved and are keen for the project to succeed. Jens Dymling would like to pay tribute to the property owner Stena Fastigheter, who has pushed ahead despite the fact that this may not have been the easiest solution.

- It feels fantastic to work on this project where we carefully renovate and at the same time fill this historic building with a rich cultural offering and contribute to a vibrant city center in Lund, says Sofia Lagerblad, Business Development Manager and Project Manager at Stena Fastigheter.