KMD Wins International Competition to Design Mexico's Greenest Major Building

KMD Architects (Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz) announced today it has been selected the winner of an International Design Competition for its design of the new "Green" Cinepolis Headquarters in Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico.

Cinepolis is the sixth largest multiplex cinema chain in the world and the leading theatre operator in Mexico.

The complex, which starts construction later this year, is set on the top of a hill on the outskirts of Morelia, a booming city approximately one hundred miles west of Mexico City.

The new headquarters is a 75,000 square-foot group of low-rise buildings articulated in a campus setting, branded with an iconic tower stamped with the Cinepolis logo.

The estimated $16 million project, when completed in 2008, will be visible from Morelia and provide a visual centerpiece for the region's bustling economy.

"The Cinepolis building will be a cost-efficient facility via energy efficiency and design that reduce its operating costs by about 30% compared to typical buildings in and around Mexico City," said Juan-Diego Perez-Vargas, KMD's Director, International and the lead designer for the project.

"The Cinepolis design heralds a major step forward in sustainable design and ecologically-minded 'green' architecture in Mexico and will also be a leader in the KMD concept of Triple Green," he added.