Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center

 cultural center / centre, film archive

2-story neo-modernist building completed in 2011. Designed by David Rockwell and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, it is a multi-screen theater and cultural venue named after the late Film Society board member, and award-winning filmmaker and designer Elinor Bunin Munroe. The 17,500 square foot venue houses 2 theaters, an amphitheater, and a café. The 140-seat Francesca Beale Theater shows specialty film releases, and the intimate 85-seat Howard Gilman Theater screens a combination of new film releases and special programs.

The building is nestled between two staircases that lead up to the public plaza spaces. Facing West 65th Street is a 90-foot-long wall of fritted glass, pale green and frosted on the ground floor and clear above. The main entrance is west of center, through a striking, angular, recessed space lined with bright orange glass framing clear glass doors. The floor of the bright orange vestibule, in front of the doors, is illuminated by orange lights embedded in the concrete walkway. Farther to the east is a revolving door opening into the Lincoln Ristoranto restaurant, which has most of its seating space up one floor, level with the plaza behind it; another revolving door at this level opens onto the plaza itself. The theater spaces are below grade. At the west end, a 16-foot-wide garage-style portal, which can be a fourth wall when closed, opens directly on the stage of the Beale Theater.

The impressive roof slopes downward from west to east, boldly cantilevering over the north facade. The soffit on the underside of the metal projection is lined with dark wood panels, and the top of the roof is completely covered in grass.