Shanghai Potent Club Ltd.. Co, Q&A Studio

This techno club spanning 600 sq.m. is located in the heart of Shanghai’s main commercial center within the newly-built Huaihai TX, a lifestyle mall hosting streetwear apparel stores, hot-pot restaurants, specialty coffee shops, art exhibition spaces, a skating rink, and an indoor snowboarding slope.

This techno club spanning 600 sq.m. is located in the heart of Shanghai’s main commercial center within the newly-built Huaihai TX, a lifestyle mall hosting streetwear apparel stores, hot-pot restaurants, specialty coffee shops, art exhibition spaces, a skating rink, and an indoor snowboarding slope. The design is inspired by ages of clubbing, and the firm chose a spatial approach based on the fluid and unbound nature of musical experience. The immersive experience involves the use of material and light, separated into two distinct spaces: a Light Room and a Dark Room. The club’s entrance features a steel see-through wardrobe made of movable panels and partitions, which open up a space that can be used for pop-up events on weekdays. Next to it, a 10m LED-lit corridor leads to the Light Room. This bigger and brighter space hosts early-night music and hip-hop performances, and is enlivened by the glimmering light of 880 solid acrylic pipes covering the walls, while Pantone-inspired ceiling lamps create a dimmer atmosphere in the sitting area.

Curved walls invite dancers onto the dance floor. A large ellipsoidal concrete bar at the center of the space features a three-dimensional disco ball made of laser-cut polished steel panels, becoming a focal point of the Light Room. On the other hand, the Dark Room is a more intimate space focused on techno music and late-night concerts. Its atmosphere is raw with shiny black vinyl sofas, dark steel tables, and embossed and perforated steel panels for the walls.