

Basildon Empire Cinema
In 2018 Basildon Council commenced the development of a new cinema and restaurant complex on East Square in Basildon Town Centre, alongside architects Pollard Thomas Edwards who encorporated a lenticular screen into the design of the building.
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In 2018 Basildon Council commenced the development of a new cinema and restaurant complex on East Square in Basildon Town Centre, alongside architects Pollard Thomas Edwards who encorporated a lenticular screen into the design of the building.

Lenticular Screen
A public lenticular screen allows two contrasting images to appear to change and move as you walk past the screen, creating an optical illusion.
The lenticular screen will be located at the back entrance of the cinema, which will act as second entrance for visitors arriving by car or foot. This area
is currently the car park off Great Oaks, near The Basildon Post Office Depot.
Work in progress
This page of the website is to show the development of the screen visuals with notes as the project evolves over time. Each side of the lenticular screen will deal with a specific theme visually and conceptually, for example:
Side A explores Basildon’s past and present heritage in collaboration with local heritage groups and individuals. To find out more info about the heritage side please click here.
Side B explores Basildon’s key areas of natural beauty in collaboration with local primary schools through a series of workshops, exploring leaf rubbings. To find out more info about the nature side please click here.



A video was made to capture what a passer byer of the screen may experience as they walk past.


Above is a short slideshow enabling to view one side of a mock up design at full length. This method will be used to allow people to see how the piece in its entirety could be viewed. Feedback was that the pieces of heritage should be put into chronological order of when built, which would be similar in format as the basildon bus station mural which also shows a timeline of Basildons History. Perhaps this could be a modern counterpart, picking up from where that piece left off.


Above is a short video of the above design idea, enabling you to have a closer look. Left to right: Great Burstead Church, St Nicholas Church, All Saints Church, St Michaels Tower, Chalvedon Hall, Pitsea Hall, Nevendon Hall, Watch House Farm, The Forge, The Rectory, The Barge, The Crown, Laindon Park School, Laindon Station, Gun Hill Church, Five Bells, Gordan Hall, Pitsea Primary School, Mission Hall, Laindon War Memorial, Barstable Cottage, Tin Tabernacle, St Basils Church, Laindon Picture Theatre, Prince of Wales, Heritage Barn, The Old Arts Centre, Brooke House, The Onion, The Echo Bridge, Basildon Hospital, Victorian Post Box, Bas Fire Station Tower, Festival Leisure Park, Basildon Bus Station Mural, Gloucester Park Swimming Pool, Beehive, Colours, Mother and Child Fountain, Basildon Sporting Village, Bas Hollywood Sign, Toys R Us, Kings Head, Basildon Resource Centre.

Above is a short video of the above design idea, enabling you to have a closer look.
A wooden maquette with 48 sides has been created to replicate the final screen. The two videos above show what it may feel like to walk past either side.
If you turn your heard while walking past the screen, the images begin to marge, which creates an interesting illusion. The video above shows how the screen will visually transform as you walk past with your eyes beginning to focus on one side as they other side goes out of focus.





Final Designs

As we move closer to the final design stages, we are beginning to fine tune the designs, which has included colour grading, re doing the sky, and adding some paths/ground to connect the collage a little bit better. | ||
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We have lowered the horizon line on the nature side to match with heritage side, so when the screen is viewed as one, they will flow. In conversation with the schools we was originally going to allocate schools certain panels, for their leaves but we have decided that schools have specific bushes, trees and areas. We will then create a map for each school, so there students can find there own individual/schools leaves. We have also included some bricks remnants in the path on the left, which aims to suggest the plotland history in the town, which when walking around Langdon Nature Reserve, can be seen. | ||
Samples were recently fabricated to help gauge the how the panels will connect, quality, colour and scale, which are all looking positive. | ||