ballroom marfa drive-in

OLIN collaborated with renowned architects MOS to design the country’s first and only art house, drive-in theater. Located in the arts epicenter of Marfa, Texas, the proposed drive-in becomes a striking new presence in the west Texas landscape, reflecting Marfa’s reputation as a cultural destination as well as the town’s historical interplay between architecture and sculpture. Designed as a film screen and bandshell, the drive-in will host acoustical sets, music festivals, opera under the stars and films curated by Josh Siegel of the Museum of Modern Art. OLIN and the architect worked together to mold the site by constructing geometric hills, valleys and terraces, which will frame the drive-in screen and provide a unique sense of enclosure within the seemingly infinite horizontal field of the Texas landscape. Each hill, valley and terrace is designed to create ideal viewing angles of the screen for both parked cars and seated pedestrians. A xeric landscape brings fields of succulents and diaphanous wildflowers to the surrounding desert landscape. The team also collaborated with artist Leo Villareal to integrate a lighting piece within the landscape that activates as visitors enter the drive-in.

Location
Marfa, TX

Owner
Ballroom Marfa

Status
Design development completed 2013

Key Team Members
Tiffany Beamer, Partner-in-Charge