Architecture studio OMA collaborated with DJ Harvey on the Potato Head nightclub in Seminyak, Bali, where optimized acoustics and a sprung dance floor will elevate the experience for partygoers.
Following the completion of the resort itself in 2020, OMA returned to work with Potato Head Design Studio on the interiors for Klymax, which are acoustically treated to transform the entire dance floor into a “sonic sweet spot”.
English DJ Harvey Bassett, known as DJ Harvey, also contributed his knowledge gained from four decades of experience working in nightclubs.
Its aim was to distill “the most unique and significant elements of the world’s leading parties and venues – past and present – into what it believes to be the most rewarding nightclub experience imaginable”, explained the design team.
“With Klymax, sound comes first,” the team continued. “It happens that when building a room to present the music in the best possible way, the design is visually appealing.”
The club’s walls and ceilings are clad in teak veneer, perforated with more than 2.6 million holes that help “tame stray frequencies” by preventing sound waves from reflecting and altering the sound.
The panels are mounted on the same perforated plywood boards and a layer of Rockwool insulation, creating a buffer in front of the 20-centimeter-thick exterior concrete walls.
The 208 square meter sprung dance floor, similar to that at London’s Ministry of Sound, is designed to reduce fatigue and stress on dancers’ joints.
Also found in ballrooms and basketball courts, this technology involves four layers of wooden latticework with 50 millimeters of foam between each intersection.
Klymax sound engineer George Stavro collaborated with fellow engineer Richard Long, who was responsible for sound at legendary Manhattan venues Studio 54 and Paradise Garage.
“It’s a classic disco night club system based on a plan based in the New York clubs of the seventies,” the team said.
To absorb vibrations, the speakers are placed on a 11cm thick concrete pad, which is also designed to be separated from the sprung floor to avoid rattling.
“The system is rich, finely balanced and perfectly refined, creating an expansive sonic sweet spot that presents music exactly as it was intended to be heard with every nuance – perfectly tuned to optimize the audio experience,” said the team.
The floating DJ booth is soundproofed from the dance floor to keep the music from bleeding, and the Klymax roof reflective pond also prevents noise from penetrating the roof.
The lighting was designed in collaboration with Tokyo-based Real Rock Design, the same studio behind Japan’s Rainbow Disco Club festival.
On one side of the room is a raised lounge with leather seating, while in the middle a disco ball with a diameter of one meter hangs from the ceiling.
The club also has a “muted bar” where cocktails are served on tap to avoid the noise of shakers and bottles.
Throughout May 2024, DJ Harvey will take part in a month-long artist residency at Potato Head, which will include several all-night sets at Klymax, as well as a curated program of film screenings, surfing and mindfulness sessions.
A line-up of international residents and DJs including HAAi, Dave Clarke, Sophie McAlister and Jonathan Kusuma are also planned for the nightclub.
OMA completed the Potato Head Studios resort in 2020 as part of the Desa Potato Head village in the Balinese beach town of Seminyak.
The firm has previously lent its nightclub design expertise to a pop-up venue for fashion brand Miu Miu through its research arm AMO. And in 2017, the studio unveiled its design for a new changing venue for Ministry Of Sound, which won a competition in 2015 but was scrapped shortly afterwards.
Photo by Tommaso Riva.