Disturbing And Extreme, Opulent And Fabulous… Come Dance?

The term Heterotopia was used by philosopher Michael Foucoult to describe spaces of otherness. The weird and wonderful, which function in their own way. That which relates to reality, yet totally negates it at the same time. These spaces usually present themselves as disturbing and extreme, opulent and fabulous.

This theme has been taken from philosophy into a two-floor nightclub in Vienna with the Sechser Heterotopia, an extravagant bar and club featuring intricate adornment and lavish design features. Austrian architecture firm Söhne & Partner Architekten took inspiration from the European art style, Mannerism, when transforming the space from its former underground nightclub into a celebration of exaggeration and excess.

Challenged by not wanting guests to feel as if they were underground, a wave-shaped ceiling was installed, giving a surreal and bizarre feeling to the space. Curved shapes create a puzzling and complex atmosphere, while clashing colours and patterns turn it into a beautiful and wonderful world.

Interplaying form, function and materiality, the result is a room that is alive with stimulus and playfulness, a real world manifestation of heterotopia.