Radio Cinema, Bridgend, Kilbirnie

The Radio Cinema, now a community centre, was built in 1939 by James Houston and is a notable example of Art Deco architecture. It occupies a rectangular footprint, with a two-storey section to the south and a single-storey former cinema auditorium to the north. The structure is based on a steel frame with brick infill panels rendered in cement.

The principal south elevation is symmetrical, featuring five bays. A slightly advanced central section presents a broadly chamfered recessed doorway accessed by three semicircular steps with a Saturn motif. The doorway has three sets of timber doors with a triangular glazing pattern, flanked by later mosaic tiling. A semicircular steel-framed timber canopy overhangs the entrance. Above the doorway is a deep recess, originally intended to house a “radio” transmitter beacon, flanked by two-storey bays with paired windows on the outer returns. Full-height bays are advanced at ground floor, featuring curved outer angles, each with a flag pole secured by faceted brackets. A horizontal band of window openings runs along the ground floor, with windows on each corner and outer return. A modern sign spans the recess at the centre.

The east elevation is largely blank, with a doorway near the centre of the ground floor and three billboard panels above. The west elevation mirrors the east, with a single billboard panel to the right. The north elevation, which contained the auditorium, remains largely unaltered.

The windows were boarded up in 2000. The auditorium roof is covered with profiled asbestos cladding, with cast-iron downpipes and gutters.

Inside, the entrance hall features curved ends and three circular light fittings to a recessed ceiling feature. Two-leaf timber doors with glazed strips provide access to the auditorium. Some fluted wall decoration remains, and some old projection equipment is still present in the projection room at the upper level of the south block.

The site is enclosed by a low, curved wall of stugged sandstone with a saddleback coping and wrought-iron railings featuring a geometric pattern. A circular-plan gatepier, topped with a domed cap, is located to the southeast, and the wall steps up to meet the bridge parapet at the west.