Architecture

In pictures: Heineken's futuristic crowdsourced nightclub

In pictures: Heineken's futuristic crowdsourced nightclub
The entrance to the club invites exploration
The entrance to the club invites exploration
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Heineken's futuristic night club started with an empty space
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Heineken's futuristic night club started with an empty space
Heineken's futuristic night club started with an empty space
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Heineken's futuristic night club started with an empty space
The interactive bar kept patrons entertained while helping staff keep track of them
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The interactive bar kept patrons entertained while helping staff keep track of them
Design elements helped bridge the dance floor to other areas of the club
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Design elements helped bridge the dance floor to other areas of the club
A truly funky DJ booth
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A truly funky DJ booth
Entertaining and interactive design elements abound
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Entertaining and interactive design elements abound
Entertaining and interactive design elements abound
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Entertaining and interactive design elements abound
Entertaining and interactive design elements abound
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Entertaining and interactive design elements abound
Entertaining and interactive design elements abound
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Entertaining and interactive design elements abound
The entrance to the club invites exploration
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The entrance to the club invites exploration
Waitstaff sported futuristic uniforms
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Waitstaff sported futuristic uniforms
The DJ booth just off the dance floor
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The DJ booth just off the dance floor
Waitstaff sported futuristic uniforms
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Waitstaff sported futuristic uniforms
The overall design was engineered to bring club-goers out of their shell
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The overall design was engineered to bring club-goers out of their shell
Waitstaff sported futuristic uniforms
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Waitstaff sported futuristic uniforms
Entertaining and interactive design elements abound
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Entertaining and interactive design elements abound
The entrance to the club invites exploration
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The entrance to the club invites exploration
DJs rocked the party throughout design week in Milan
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DJs rocked the party throughout design week in Milan
View gallery - 18 images

When designers from across the world get together to create a crowdsourced nightclub concept, one thing is a certain - a damn good party. That's what went down last month when a futuristic-styled club sponsored by Heineken popped up at Milan's week-long design fair. Designers from Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Milan and New York teamed up with clubbers from over 100 cities to collaborate on the design, and we've just gotten our hands on some more video and images from inside.

An online creative hub was used for 19 designers and the crowd of club-goers to share ideas and meld the different insights and concepts together into a final product that looks something like a more stylish version of Tron.

"Clubs are really interesting spaces for us to explore new design ideas, as they’re social, extrovert and progressive places where design really sets the scene for the nightlife experience," said Mark van Iterson, Head of Global Design at Heineken. "We set out to experiment with ways of making the night more welcoming, more memorable and igniting conversation through design concepts and innovations."

The club concept includes several novel design elements meant to set the right mood for a fun night out. Interactive game-like activities were built in to the club to serve as icebreakers - even the surface of the bar itself was interactive to provide a little extra entertainment and help bar staff keep track of the queue. The layout of the club itself was designed to invite exploration with an origami-shaped theme that seems - from what I could tell from the videos - to leave room for surprises on each surface, especially when a progressive lighting design amplifies the overall ambience.

The waitstaff add a final touch of other-worldliness to the atmosphere, with a uniform seemingly imported from another galaxy from headgear to outlandish footwear.

The crowdsourced pop-up club is one of a number of experimental design initiatives Heineken has been playing with lately. The brand also turned to the crowd recently to come up with a unique design for a special anniversary bottle. It's also quick to point out its history of innovation, counting the first green beer bottle and the at-home DraughtKeg among its achievements.

Check out the video highlights of a night at the Heineken concept club below:

Milan Design Week - Heineken Open Design Explorations Edition 1: The Club

View gallery - 18 images
4 comments
4 comments
yrag
I'm looking at the photo at the top of the page and thinking—wow, talk about seeing the world through beer goggles!
Von Meerman
Are you serious? That was so boring!
That might have been because the ad focused on idiots with beers bopping to the tune rather than the nightclub itself and I did like the funky staff uniforms but the only thing the video seemed to exhibit in terms of design was lots of green and red, glowing lights and a bar that made stars in reaction to drinks being put on it.
Other than that it was just a small room full of people drinking one type of alcohol. Yawn.
Charles Bosse
I am with Meerman. I've BEEN in more interesting clubs than this, that weren't even that great frankly. The one cool thing in the club is using a Microsoft technology that debuted more than two years ago (basically an oversized multi-touch screen). Otherwise, there was maybe one cool piece of sculpture, and some Halloween quality costumes.
How much did Heineken spend on this? I bet, for the same cost, I could purchase space for AND build a better night club. Oh, but I would want to serve more than one drink and I guess that wouldn't sit well.
RESISTANCE
It would be more interesting if the walls of the club moved or"pivoted" constantly providing a new "landscape" or areas to explore. As long as routes of exit could be maintained in case of a fire, that would be something very cool to see.
I've seen clubs in California with different themed rooms as well. If you could changes the themes hourly then that would make for a very exciting experience. The human attention span is only about 30-45 minutes at best.
Combine each room with interactive games and displays like the table top computer Microsoft is developing and cool music and you would have the recipe for a truly engaging experience.