The first part of the renovation of the Plaza Center Cinéma, the Open Days of the Mont-Blanc Center attracted 3,000 people who came to discover this post-war architectural gem and the beginnings of the future cultural complex.

Last weekend, the public generously answered the call of Mont-Blanc Center Open Doors: this first important stage, since the start of work in 2020, raised the curtain on the magnificent building by Marc J. Saugey revealing its architectural subtleties in a general climate of enthusiasm.

Animations, exhibitions, screenings, virtual reality experiences and dance punctuated these two festive days of Friday November 29 and Saturday November 30. Born thanks to the collaboration between the Plaza Foundation and the cultural entities that have set up in the building, these proposals announced the synergies of this future creative ecosystem dedicated to the cinema in dialogue with other disciplines.

   
©Nicolas Lieber

Showing the architectural models and giving a guided tour, the architects from the FdMP office presented the renovation project of the Plaza Center Cinéma that will be finalized in two years with the opening of the historic cinema. They also detailed the work of art accomplished to restore the architecture of Marc J. Saugey. The presentation of the Plaza Center Cinema project – including the different exhibition spaces, the future brasserie “Europe” and the cinema hotel – aroused the enthusiasm of the participants.

    
©Nicolas Lieber

At these Open Days, the Plaza Foundation also unveiled the new artistic intervention on the illuminated sign imagined by Christian Robert-Tissot. This time, the Geneva artist picked a line from Steven Spielberg movie “Jurassic Park”, evoking a line from the first “King Kong” by directors Cooper and Schoedsack, released sixty years earlier, in 1933. Thus the message calls out now passers-by: “What’s in there? King Kong? “.

As the highlight of the event, the public was able to admire the magnificent photographs from the exhibition “The Deadly Beauty of Cinemas” by Simon Edelstein emphasizing the splendor of old cinemas around the world. The exhibition will remain open to the public until February 28, 2025, Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Three exceptional openings are also planned for Saturdays, December 14, 2024, January 18, 2025, and February 15, 2025, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Simon Edelstein’s books will also be available for sale on site (4th floor).