In this movie, artist Matthew Mazzotta says the success of The Storefront Theater, which won him Architecture Project of the Year at the inaugural Dezeen Awards, comes down to the way the local community has made use of it.
The Storefront Theater is a retractable theatre disguised as a shop. It was built to re-invigorate the main street in the town of Lyons, Nebraska, and create a community space for its residents.
Mazzotta told Dezeen that local community has embraced the structure, using it for a variety of activities.
"That's what I call success ? how the community appropriates the project," Mazzotta told Dezeen. "You can always make a gesture but it doesn't really sing or fly until the community takes it and makes it their own," The Storefront Theatre in Lyons, Nebraska is a retractable public theatre disguised as a storefront
Using two hydraulic cylinders, a false storefront folds over the sidewalk of Lyons' Main Street and rolls out seating for 100 people. A rollable screen can then be paired with the structure in order to create a public theatre.
"Basically it?s a facade that bends down over main street, bleachers come out, a screen comes in and turns main street into a movie theatre," Mazzotta said.
The theatre has been used for a variety of events such as music concerts, movie screenings and other events for the community at large.
"They've had events that are anti-bullying, they've had movies and concerts. Recently I went...