CASE STUDY

PVR CINEMAS LULU MALL

PVR Cinemas is a film entertainment company in India. The company, which
began as a joint venture agreement between Priya Exhibitors Private Limited
and Village
Roadshow Limited began its commercial operations in June 1997. The company is
founded by Mr. Ajay Bijli, who is the Chairman and Managing Director
PVR has a strong presence with 553 screens in 122 locations across 48 Indian cities
Name of Architects - W S Atkins
Area of site - 71,000 sq. ft(6,600 sq. m)
Established in the year – 26 April 2013
Address - 2nd Floor, Lulu Mall, Nethaji Nagar, Edappally, Ernakulam, Kochi, Kerala
Owner - Lulu Group International
No. of screens - 9 (with number of seats ranging from 148 to 456 )
Location – Edappally Netaji Nagar, Lulu Mall NH 47 Entrance, Kochi, Kerala 682025
Approach –
MAIN ENTRIES TO THE MALL
 ACCESS

•Access to the cinemas is from second floor.

•Exclusive entry elevators from outside for accessing the cinemas.
•Exit is through the third floor.
•Projector room comes in fourth floor.
•A direct exit to the basement parking is provided.
•Lulu Mall has a parking space that can accommodate 3500 vehicles.
•Wheel chair access: From third floor through lifts from the parking areas.
• Within the third floor, PVR is placed at a corner
adjacent to the courtyard itself making us feel that
space to be more spacious.
• The placement at the dead end takes in the lobby
outside also to be the PVR lobby during peak hours.

• This lobby with a quick tix , ticket counters ,

etc. act as a buffer zone between the
outside and the exclusive lobby of theatre.
• Towards the quick tix the colors seem to
be more warm. This lobby may spill out
people during peak hours to outside due to
insufficient space for a long queue.
The buffer zone opens into a large, spacious theatre
lobby with food counters , informal seating or
people etc. This space is meant to entertain and to
relax the people with tickets waiting to enter for
next show.
After the tight space for security check the space
feels to be more larger.
Accent lighting near the ceiling and wall panels
highlights the demarcations. Ambient lighting
provided by lamps are kept in niches on ceilings.
The ticket counter is about 6 meters long with 4
queue tracks.
The counter outstands the other interior fixtures
by its colour of red and white. It is like an inset
made in a whole mass at entrance itself.

• The colour scheme of the lobby which is just outside

the ticket lobby is neutral with enough day lighting
from the highlight at the courtyard.
• Further, a quick transition is brought in the colour
scheme while we step into the main lobby near ticket
counter. The colours are yellow, brown , off white etc
which bring in an elegant mood.
• Quick tix is a facility offered by the PVR movies here. It
provides a quick glance about he currently running
movies in the theatres and also displays trailers of he new
movies.
• To avoid people hanging out for a long time in this small
lobby, seating is not provided here.
• The colour scheme is made warm, so that people cannot
stand there for long.

Quick tix • The screens are all together placed in a niche

so that they don’t protrude into the lobby
space .
Ticket But during peak hours, the lobby space may be
counter congested due the queue at the ticket counter
meeting the people viewing at the quick tix.
• The space is organized such that anyone who enters the lobby outside sees the baggage counter so that people
are devoid of luggage even when they enter the buffer zone.

• The staff entry is hidden just adjacent to that by the wall projections at baggage counter.

• The wider theatre lobby further opens through

nine large doors to the respective screens.
• Towards the doors the color is made to be more
neutral to avoid a sudden change into darkness
inside the movie theatre.
 • The lobby is decorated in the interior with veneers and wood.
• On ceiling separate false ceiling like panels are kept with inlaid yellow lighting in circular
forms. The light is inset so that only diffused high intensity light illuminates the area.
• Natural lighting is not at all provided.

Toilet

Theatre

Snacks counter

Food counter
seating

• The circulation between the main lobby and the 9

screens are minimum with the lobby connecting the
Counter Main lobby
theatres around it.
lobby
• Entries to the movie theatres face the main lobby making
it easy for the people waiting in the central seating to
view the crowd at the entry.
• The security check at the entry of the main lobby makes
the feel space larger.
• An indirect view is provided towards the snack counter at the end.
The central seating areas around columns mask the unattractive appearance of the RCC columns.
 Theatre
• The rear wall of the first theatre forms the screen space for
Theatre
the quick tix at its behind.
• Each path towards the theatre opens into a lobby space in
front of which is the screen.
• The color scheme changes to more natural in the pathway leading
to the theatre to reduce the effect of sudden transition to a darker
space.
• The plaster finish is smooth everywhere making the space feel
Theatre
larger.
The exclusive lobby before the theatre entry diverts
into two aisles at the end near the theatre entry.: toilets
for males and females.
Long dark corridor which starts with a set of wash
basins in the wash room.

Washroom
complex

• The lobby diverts the people to the food counter,

the three screens at the end and to the toilets on
either side.
Toilet
THEATRE 1
THEATRE 2 THEATRE 3 THEATRE 4

THEATRE 5

THEATRE 6
THEATRE 8
THEATRE 9 THEATRE 7
• No of screens 9
• The theatres are of same layout
• Cinemascope picture format
• Dolby atoms 7.1
• Box theatre
• Total capacity = 1854
• No of seats in one Audi = 209
• There is 1 entry and 3 exits, one exit is used
in case of fire.
• The exit is towards the 3rd floor towards a
common corridor
• The fire extinguishers are kept in front of the
screen
• Pathway is around 120cm
• There are total of 184 normal seats from A to P
• And 18 executive seats Q-R
• polyurethane seats
• Push back seats

EXECUTIVE SEATS
 8M 8m

SECTION A-A’

A’
PLAN
• The goods are carried to the main store room under the auditorium 4 by means of lift
then carried to the sub store rooms Near the kiosks
• It is hidden from the main lobby the storage, transportation, etc are managed during
non screening hours
• having the minimum area of 6 sq.m which is optimum needs not a well maintained
spaces

Storage lulu mall

1. Staff room is located behind the
box office.
2. Isolated from the public zone
but connected to the box office.
3. It is placed in such a way that it
will not affect the aesthetics
4. There is no entrances through the
exterior to the box office or to the
baggage counter except the one
through staff room creating an
inconvenience to the staff members STAFF ROOM

1. Dirty utility space is located within the

women's toilet area
2. Rest room and locker for the workers
are located adjacent to the womens
toilet
3. Is isolated from rest of the spaces

HOUSE KEEPING
EXIT
•THERE ARE A TOTAL OF 4 EXIT DOORS FOR A SINGLE AUDITORIUM.
•2 OF THEM ON THE BACK OF THE SEATING ARRANGEMENT, ONE INFRONT OF
THE SEATING AND THE LAST ONE IS THE ENTRANCE ITSELF.
•EACH OF THEM OPEN UP TO SINGLE CORRIDOR. THE CORRIDOR IS IN THE
FORM OF A T.
•THE FIRE ESCAPE DOOR OPEN UP TO PARKING AREA
• THERE ARE SEPARATE FIRE EXITS.
•2 LIFTS FROM THE PARKING AREA WHICH CAN BE USED BY THE WHEELCHAIR
VISITORS.
• RAMPS FOR WHEELCHAIR VIEWERS.

EXIT CORRIDOR EXIT STAIRCASE

 ESCAPE CORRIDOR
AUDI 9 AUDI 8 AUDI 6
AUDI 7

AUDI 5

AUDI 4
AUDI 1 AUDI 2 AUDI 3

AUDITORIUM

CIRCULATION PATH LIFTS

EXIT LEVEL CORRIDOR PLAN

INFERENCES
MERITS:
• PROJECTOR ROOM ON DIFFERENT FLOOR.
• EXIT CAN BE ON THE SAME FLOOR AS THAT OF THE SCREEN ROOM.
• DIRECT CONNECTION TO THE PARKING AREA.
• WHEELCHAIR VIEWERS NEED RAMPS AND LIFTS TO REACH THE SCREEN ROOM.
• THE PROJECTORS MUST BE OF 2K OR CAN ALSO BE 4K TYPES.
• THERE MUST BE A MINIMUM OF 5 CHANNELS.
• FIRE PROTECTION GIVEN IN THE SCREEN ROOM AS WELL.
• AHU ROOM IS PLACED NEAR THE PROJECTOR ROOM.
DEMERITS:
•THE DISTANCE FROM THE SEATING TO THE SCREEN IS ABOUT 2.5 M WHICH IS A
HINDRANCE TO THE VIEWERS.
•THE TICKET COUNTER IS OUTSIDE THE CINEWORLD LOBBY AREA BEACAUSE OF WHICH IT
SHARES THE SAME SPACE AS THAT OF THE MALL SHOPS.
• USUALLY PEOPLE TEND TO USE THE ENTRY AS THE EXITS WHICH CAN CAUSE A
CONFUSION.
• WHEELCHAIR VIEWRS ARE NOT GIVEN PROVISIONS OF RAMP AT 3RD FLOOR EXIT
OPINION

• THE FORM MUST BE ATTRACTIVE IN ORDER TO CATCH VIEWERS ATTENTION.

• TOO MUCH OF LIGHT DECORATION WHICH CAN BE DISTRACTING NATURE MUST BE
AVOIDED.
• SCREEN ROOM OF DIFFERENT SHAPE .
• GOOD QAUALITY SCREEN AND SOUND SYSTEM.
• MUSEUM AND GRAFFITI WALLS WHICH HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF CLASSIC
MOVIES.
• RAMPS NOT PREFERRED.
IF THERE ARE TOO MANY ROWS THEN THERE MUST BE PATHS TO BREAK IT IN BETWEEN SO
AS TO REDUCE THE UNCOMFORT.