Busan Cinema Center

Busan Cinema Center, known in Korean as 영화의전당 and commonly branded as Dureraum, is a large film, performance, entertainment, and cultural complex in Centum City, Busan, South Korea. Its principal institutional role is serving as the official venue of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), one of Asia’s best-known film festivals. The name Dureraum is associated with the idea of enjoying films together, reflecting the center’s function as a public gathering place rather than simply a conventional multiplex. The complex opened on September 29, 2011, after construction that began almost three years earlier. It was developed as a purpose-built architectural landmark for Busan’s expanding cultural and convention district. The project was designed by the Austrian architecture firm Coop Himmelb(l)au and constructed by Hanjin Heavy Industries. Its design combines cinema, festival, public-square, dining, entertainment, and administrative functions under two highly distinctive steel roofs. The building’s architecture was recognized with the International Architecture Award and a Chicago Athenaeum award in 2007, before completion. The site occupies approximately 32,137 square meters and contains about 54,335 square meters of performance, entertainment, dining, and administrative space. Its principal components are Cine Mountain, Biff Hill, and Double Cone, together with the outdoor Biff Theater and Dureraum Square. The Big Roof covers the principal public square and has a cantilever extending approximately 85 meters. The Small Roof shelters the outdoor theater. Both roofs use extensive LED lighting, making the complex particularly recognizable during evening events and festival ceremonies. The center’s identity is closely tied to BIFF, but its activities extend beyond the annual festival. It provides indoor and outdoor screening spaces, event venues, public gathering areas, food and leisure facilities, and administrative infrastructure for film-related programming. The outdoor Biff Theater and Dureraum Square are especially important to the festival atmosphere, enabling large public events and open-air presentations. The complex therefore operates as both a cultural institution and an architectural destination within Busan. In July 2013, the Big Roof was recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s longest cantilever roof. This record reinforced the center’s international architectural profile and complemented its role as a symbol of Busan’s cultural ambitions. The venue remains active as a film and event complex, with its official English-language website presenting programming and visitor information under the Dureraum name.

Busan Cinema Center was conceived as a major cultural and architectural facility for Busan’s Centum City district and as a permanent home for the city’s internationally oriented film-festival activity. Its central institutional relationship is with the Busan International Film Festival, for which the center serves as the official venue. The project was intended to provide more than standard cinemas: it combines screening facilities with performance areas, public plazas, administrative space, dining, entertainment, and outdoor event infrastructure. The complex was designed by Coop Himmelb(l)au, an Austrian architectural practice known for highly expressive and technically ambitious buildings. Hanjin Heavy Industries was responsible for construction. The design received architecture recognition in 2007, including the International Architecture Award and recognition associated with the Chicago Athenaeum, several years before the building was completed. Construction began almost three years before the public opening. The center opened on September 29, 2011. Its architectural organization is based on three principal buildings—Cine Mountain, Biff Hill, and Double Cone—alongside the Biff Theater outdoor venue and Dureraum Square. The complex occupies a site of roughly 32,137 square meters and provides approximately 54,335 square meters of combined performance, dining, entertainment, and administrative space. This arrangement allows the venue to function simultaneously as a festival headquarters, a cinema destination, and a civic gathering place. The most prominent visual feature is the pair of large steel roofs. The Big Roof spans the main public square and incorporates a substantial cantilever, while the Small Roof covers the outdoor Biff Theater. LED lighting integrated into both ceilings gives the center a strong nighttime presence and supports the atmosphere of film premieres, ceremonies, and public events. The roofs also make the building an architectural landmark independent of its film programming. The venue’s public identity is expressed through the name Dureraum, a Korean term associated with enjoying films together. This framing emphasizes collective viewing and festival participation. Although BIFF is the center’s defining event relationship, the venue’s infrastructure supports broader cultural programming and public use throughout the year. Its spaces accommodate screenings, open-air cinema, performances, ceremonies, gatherings, and visitor-oriented activities. In July 2013, the Big Roof received Guinness World Records recognition as the world’s longest cantilever roof. The record drew additional international attention to a building that had already received architectural awards before opening. Busan Cinema Center consequently occupies two overlapping positions: it is a working film institution connected to one of Asia’s major festivals and a piece of landmark architecture associated with Busan’s modern cultural identity. It remains active under the Dureraum name.

• 2013

  Big Roof receives Guinness World Records recognition

  [1]Busan Cinema Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The Big Roof was recognized as the world’s longest cantilever roof, highlighting the engineering and architectural character of the complex.

• 2011

  Public opening

  [1]Busan Cinema Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Busan Cinema Center opened on September 29, 2011, becoming the official venue of the Busan International Film Festival and a major cultural complex in Centum City.

• 2007

  Design receives international architecture recognition

  [1]Busan Cinema Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The planned Busan Cinema Center design received the International Architecture Award and recognition associated with the Chicago Athenaeum.

A landmark public film and culture venue that combines international festival infrastructure, cinema programming, outdoor events, and destination architecture.

• Outdoor cinema and event venue · 2011

  Biff Theater

  Biff Theater is the center’s outdoor theater and is covered by the Small Roof. It supports open-air film screenings, festival events, ceremonies, and public performances. Its location within the larger complex allows it to function as a highly visible communal venue during the Busan International Film Festival and other cultural programming.

• Public cultural plaza · 2011

  Dureraum Square

  Dureraum Square is the principal public gathering space beneath the complex’s Big Roof. It provides an open setting for festival activity, public events, ceremonies, pedestrian circulation, and visitor experiences. The square’s large canopy and integrated LED ceiling contribute to the venue’s recognizable architectural identity and help support nighttime programming.

• Cinema and cultural facility · 2011

  Cine Mountain

  Cine Mountain is one of the principal buildings within Busan Cinema Center. It forms part of the venue’s indoor film and cultural infrastructure and operates alongside Biff Hill, Double Cone, the outdoor theater, and the public square. Together, these facilities provide the capacity needed for festival screenings and related cultural activities.

• Cinema and cultural facility · 2011

  Biff Hill

  Biff Hill is one of the three principal built components of Busan Cinema Center. It contributes to the center’s indoor screening, administrative, and event functions and is integrated into the wider festival-oriented complex rather than operating as a separate consumer brand.

• Cultural and event facility · 2011

  Double Cone

  Double Cone is a principal component of the Busan Cinema Center complex. It forms part of the venue’s mixed-use cultural environment, which includes film-related facilities, performance and event spaces, visitor amenities, dining, and administrative functions.

• 2013

  Busan Cinema Center receives Guinness recognition for its cantilever roof[1]Busan Cinema Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The center’s Big Roof was recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest cantilever roof, adding an internationally noted architectural distinction to the venue.

• 2011

  Busan Cinema Center opens as the official Busan International Film Festival venue[1]Busan Cinema Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The purpose-built Busan Cinema Center opened in Busan on September 29, 2011. The complex was designed to support the Busan International Film Festival while also providing cinema, performance, public-space, dining, and entertainment functions.

1. 1Busan Cinema Centeren.wikipedia.org
2. 2Busan Cinema Center official English websitedureraum.org