It’s Wellington’s grandest and oldest cinema, and now it has a new bar and two boutique theatres to entice more people to call in for a drink, meal and movie.
This high-end fit out involving the completion of a new lounge/bar and two-cinema development completed the restoration and alteration of the Embassy which begun in 2003. Listed Category 1 on the New Zealand Historic Places Trust register, the Theatre was built in 1924 and known as the “de Luxe”, the name given to the new facility.
The works were complex in nature, and due to the heritage rating works were to both protect and enhance all existing finishes. There was an element of restoration of existing tile finishes and dados also. Hawkins worked collaboratively and in close consultation with the design and consulting team to ensure all requirements were met.
The two new cinemas which seat 70 patrons each are complimented with a contemporary bar and lounge area complete with an original fireplace.
The latest in digital sound and screen technology were installed, making the cinemas some of the best not only in New Zealand but the world.
Specialty installed new black wool acoustic wall curtains with 80% fullness, which look stunning, cinema screen frames, fixed screen maskings and silver screen surfaces for digital 3D projection from international screen manufacturer Harkness Screens.
The end result was magnificent with the two new auditoriums and foyer area complimenting this grand old dame and giving her a new lease on life.
The Embassy has been and probably always will be the most stylish cinema complex in New Zealand.