Club Architectural Design

L

lithpower

Active Member
I went to Pacha for the first time in a few years. I heard it was redesigned in that time span. I can see that it's different from the last time I went. Pacha really makes me think about my ability to mentally map, orientate, and understand where I am and what's going on. This is a crazy structure!

As a lover of history, I've got an understanding of how several of these clubs have changed over time. I know some have expanded. Some have changed ownership. I am realizing far more than before how these places have become mazes. I assume they became more 'modular' as a result of these changes.

Pacha makes me think I stumbled into a collective, psychotic dream. The inner workings of minds that had similar goals, yet expressed in the most conflicting ways. Somehow they all agreed the ingress/egress from the main rooms should confuse and punish. All the stairs... Ironically, it provides for the most satisfyingly connecting experiences, as people run into the ends of winding corridors together, following each other, only to find out, we were all wrong when we went down this path! Perhaps H.H. Holmes shared a studio with these designers.

Space (had) / Hi has this same problem. Amnesia and DC-10 have the worst choke points I've experienced. But it's not just these. Fabric in London immediately comes to mind.

I've never heard the psychology behind club design. I know casinos are designed in very particular ways to encourage more gambling, drinking, and loss of awareness of time. In the end it doesn't matter. We're all mice in a maze.
 
^my kinda post!

I stand to be corrected but I think the vast majority of clubs were originally set up to be purely functional. In Spain a lot were originally theatres or ballrooms which just evolved with each generation.

One obvious big difference between the UK and Spanish clubs is that in London a lot of the bigger clubs were inspired by warehouse parties or former industrial spaces which were dark and cavernous. That is how Fabric, The End and the big King's Cross clubs came about. Those guys had been to illegal raves only a few years before and therefore understood the culture and mentality. There was also a lot of space in East London because the remaining bombed out or deindustrialised sites created opportunities in the 80s to start new things and I went to more than a few places with maze-like corridors (eg the Four Aces or LNCC)

Whereas the Ibiza clubs evolved ad hoc and had no rave tradition or warehouse heritage so the largest buildings in the early years would've been fincas or extended farmhouses. KU obviously changed the game in terms of how ambitious Spanish discotheques could be, creating an opulent openair fantasy, but initially pitched at bohemian, gay, jetset poseur guests in mind not the ravers who came later.

With the advent of festivals and daytime parties, something was lost and not just the intense club vibes of old. The buildings you lost yourself in too were places which were a bit of a secret where naughty things 'stayed'.

In Ibiza and elsewhere it seems to me that that experience of losing yourself is being er lost but then I guess for some people, and re issues of accessibility, safety and stuff that's no bad thing
 
I certainly got lost a few times in Turnmills. I think one of the smaller rooms behind the main room had lower ceiling drapes everywhere (chandeliers maybe?) There was also a seated area under the stairs the bouncers' torches were never too far from... the much bigger backroom was always a bit too light IIRC. There were different annexes upstairs too but in the haze I could be wrong on everything though! The main room itself felt really industrial - am I imagining there were loads of pipes everywhere? I probably could look all this up but it's more fun to try and remember stuff
 
The Sun God said:
I certainly got lost a few times in Turnmills. I think one of the smaller rooms behind the main room had lower ceiling drapes everywhere (chandeliers maybe?) There was also a seated area under the stairs the bouncers' torches were never too far from... the much bigger backroom was always a bit too light IIRC. There were different annexes upstairs too but in the haze I could be wrong on everything though! The main room itself felt really industrial - am I imagining there were loads of pipes everywhere? I probably could look all this up but it's more fun to try and remember stuff
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The Sun God said:
^my kinda post!

I stand to be corrected but I think the vast majority of clubs were originally set up to be purely functional. In Spain a lot were originally theatres or ballrooms which just evolved with each generation.

One obvious big difference between the UK and Spanish clubs is that in London a lot of the bigger clubs were inspired by warehouse parties or former industrial spaces which were dark and cavernous. That is how Fabric, The End and the big King's Cross clubs came about. Those guys had been to illegal raves only a few years before and therefore understood the culture and mentality. There was also a lot of space in East London because the remaining bombed out or deindustrialised sites created opportunities in the 80s to start new things and I went to more than a few places with maze-like corridors (eg the Four Aces or LNCC)

Whereas the Ibiza clubs evolved ad hoc and had no rave tradition or warehouse heritage so the largest buildings in the early years would've been fincas or extended farmhouses. KU obviously changed the game in terms of how ambitious Spanish discotheques could be, creating an opulent openair fantasy, but initially pitched at bohemian, gay, jetset poseur guests in mind not the ravers who came later.

With the advent of festivals and daytime parties, something was lost and not just the intense club vibes of old. The buildings you lost yourself in too were places which were a bit of a secret where naughty things 'stayed'.

In Ibiza and elsewhere it seems to me that that experience of losing yourself is being er lost but then I guess for some people, and re issues of accessibility, safety and stuff that's no bad thing
Click to expand...
This is very informative! Having seen some of the pictures posted by ibiza_past on Instagram, more is making sense, even if they can contradict "sense" at the same time. I think you raise good points about who, what, and why, and I was missing some of that context.

I wanted my original post to sound more "amused" than I think it did. I wholly believe that it contributes rather than takes away from the experience. To me, part of the charm is the unexpected. It seems like it would be hard to manufacture that without deliberate misdirection. If you have a repurposed space that has been growing over time, it can organically develop.

The best recent example of misdirection or the unexpected may be the Wild Corner in Hi. I don't recall it receiving much (advertising) attention when it first opened, so people responded with a mixture of surprise, delight, and absurdity. Even though it's more known now, I still feel that energy when I enter.

I haven't been to some of the newer clubs yet, such as Akasha or Club Chinois. I deliberately keep myself uninformed so I can have accidental experiences when I arrive. I hope the people redeveloping Privilege keep a bit of that kind of magic in mind with whatever it turns out to be.
 
Going to Pacha for the first few times, finding the little stairwells/tunnels under the now VIP and Dj box/small rooms/different terraces and even outside toilets was an adventure.

Space and Privilege were the same to a lesser degree. Not sure i have thought too much about it before but in the North we had big warehouses, theatres or lots of converted church as clubs
 
Q Club in Birmingham was an old catherdral, and this really was a maze of rooms, corridors and stairs, on a big night I think they had up to 5 rooms going, the main room being the main church auditorium, still with church organ, don't think I have been to another club like that where you could really get lost, and spend the night exploring as much as dancing, and losing your friends!

First few times I went to Pacha was a bit like that, took me about 3 events to find the funky room! Space also was very much like that, when you would go out the back of the discoteca and there was a shop! and the back on the sunset terrace by the toilets where they sold very reasonably priced pizza slices!
 
ibizainside said:
Q Club in Birmingham was an old catherdral, and this really was a maze of rooms, corridors and stairs, on a big night I think they had up to 5 rooms going, the main room being the main church auditorium, still with church organ, don't think I have been to another club like that where you could really get lost, and spend the night exploring as much as dancing, and losing your friends!
Click to expand...
My favourite club of all time. So many good nights there


 
claretclubber said:
Going to Pacha for the first few times, finding the little stairwells/tunnels under the now VIP and Dj box/small rooms/different terraces and even outside toilets was an adventure.

Space and Privilege were the same to a lesser degree. Not sure i have thought too much about it before but in the North we had big warehouses, theatres or lots of converted church as clubs
Click to expand...

Impossible to have a look at the club at a normal , rammed night. Sometimes its a challenge to come to the exit. Tried to go to the relaxing area outside : Impssible. And it was May ...
 
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