REXKL: 戲院變成創意樞紐｜A Cinema is a Creative Hub
戲院變成創意樞紐 | 由吉隆坡REXKL演繹
由邵氏兄弟經營的前Rex Cinema易名為REXKL，5個月前於吉隆坡市中心重新開幕。Rex Cinema於2002年關閉之前，是一間單屏幕戲院。「戲院只播放西片，這裡是我們帶動城市新文化躍進的象徵。」REXKL聯合創辦人兼建築師Shin Tseng表示。
2002年後，戲院大樓變成背包客旅館，地下改成公共停車場。Shin Tseng和他的拍檔正式搬入前，亦協助背包客旅館遷出。從第一天開始，改變社區建築物用途予街坊使用，一直是團隊的願景和挑戰。「要跟街坊說，我們想把停車場搬走並不容易。但從積極角度看，附近仍然有大量停車場可用。我們希望街坊可以盡快習慣，使用其他地方泊車。」在吉隆坡最擠迫的地區，要為文化喘息空間和停車場之間取得平衡，或許會引起街坊爭議。
目前，在4層的REXKL大樓中，有13個租戶，租戶的客戶群非常集中。「我們想從既定的群眾開始。REXKL將延續Rex Cinema的發展願景，為周遭社區帶來嶄新的生活方式和文化的新視角。」Shin Tseng強調。目前租戶包括在村莊培訓年青人的理髮店、經營 三代人的傳統點心酒樓、以及一對老婆婆姊妹，經營磨刀生意。甫進REXKL，亞航基金會首個社企中心 - Destination: GOOD會歡迎您，這裡有30多間來自東盟的社企，售賣符合社會責任和道德生產方式的產品。我們GUTS的小編選擇到地下花店，以支持推動綠化市區 。 REXKL團隊精心挑選企業家和藝術家加入，期望投入文化新浪潮，亦留住歷史。
戲院地下樓層的座位已拆去，並鋪設廣闊的水泥鈄台，變成可容納數百人的理想表演和活動場地 。為使場地結合社會意義和環保元素，這裡不會全方位提供冷氣，這一點須與租戶達成妥協，亦是REXKL團隊其中一個挑戰。Shin Tseng幽默解釋：「馬來西亞有4個季節 – 霧霾季節、雨季、榴槤季節和假日季節，就是沒有冬季。要在自然風和冷氣取得平衡，將會是我們最傷腦筋的地方之一。 」
REXKL雖然開業不久，但已經引起城市和周邊地區的廣泛關注。市民開始懂得閱讀，參加展覽、音樂會，最重要是懂得放鬆身心。 我們相信REXKL將會是一個範例，演繹如何由舊戲院建築，走到第二次重生的未來。回看我們的皇都戲院，有值得借鏡的地方嗎？
A Cinema is a Creative Hub | REXKL in Kuala Lumpur
Renamed as REXKL, the former Rex Cinema operated by the Shaw Brothers in Downtown Kuala Lumpur, was reopened 5 months ago. The Rex Cinema was a single-screen theatre before it was shut down in 2002. "The cinema only showed western movies, it was an icon of progressive cultural facilitator in our Downtown, " said Shin Tseng, an architect and the co-founder of the REXKL Initiative.
After 2002, the cinema building had turned into a backpacker hostel where the ground floor had become a public car park. Shin and his partner helped to relocate the backpacker hostel before they officially moved in. Repurposing the building for the neighbourhood has been the team's vision and challenge since day one. "It was not easy to tell the neighbours we were moving the car park away. But, looking on the positive side, there are still abundant parking lots nearby. We hope they will get used to parking their vehicles elsewhere very soon." Situated in one of the most congested blocks in Downtown Kuala Lumpur, the balance between a cultural breathing space and parking could be controversial.
Currently, in the 4-storey REXKL building, there are 13 tenants, all with very focused clienteles. "We want to start with a selected crowd. REXKL would continue the progressive vision of Rex Cinema to bring on a new perspective of lifestyle and culture for the surrounding community," emphasized by Shin. The current tenants include a barbershop that trains the young people in the villages, a traditional dim-sum restaurant that is running for three generations and a pair of old granny sisters who work on knife sharpening. At the entrance of REXKL, you would be greeted by Destination: GOOD, the first social enterprise hub launched by AirAsia Foundation. It retails responsibly and ethically produced goods sourced from over 30 social enterprises from the ASEAN region. Our GUTS editor choice will go to the floristry shop on the ground floor where it aims to promote more tree planting in the city. The REXKL team carefully select the entrepreneurs and artistes who look forward to a new wave of culture without abandoning the history.
The cinema floor has the seats removed and furnished as a big concrete ramp. It is a perfect location for performances and events with hundreds of people. Being both socially and environmentally conscious, the space is not fully air-conditioned. It is one of the challenge for REXKL team to make a compromise with the tenants. Shin explained in a humourous manner, "Malaysia has 4 seasons - the Haze Season, the Raining Season, the Durian Season and the Holiday Season. We only miss out the Winter Season. Balancing natural and mechanical ventilation will be one of our hardest efforts."
Though it is only soon after its opening, REXKL is already getting a lot of attention and interest from the city and surrounding neighbourhood. People start to flood over to read books, look at the exhibitions, attend concerts, and most importantly, to relax. We believe REXKL is going to demonstrate how an old cinema building could have a second chance with future relevance. Looking back at our State Theatre, is there any experience we can draw from REXKL?
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