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    AB Lafitte creates colourful and “eccentric” music venue in Oklahoma City

    This live music venue in Oklahoma City was created by local interior designer AB Laffite as a “psychedelic funhouse” using carnival lighting strips and a palette of sunset hues.

    Resonant Head occupies a previously vacant building on SW 25th Street in the historic Capitol Hill neighbourhood, south of the Oklahoma River from the city’s downtown area.
    While designing the Resonant Head venue, the angled ceiling proved to be the toughest constraintWith a capacity of over 250, the renovated space is intended for hosting small performances within a visually stimulating and immersive environment.
    “Designed to be a carnival-like playground for both fans and artists, the venue reintroduced the building’s original mid-century modern architecture as a psychedelic funhouse,” said Laffite.
    The bar area was given a nostalgic diner-style feel”The goal was to create an eccentric design that maintained the character of the building while also straying from the typical dark and industrial music venue aesthetic,” she added.

    The renovation of the building involved negotiating the “wildly angular” original concrete ceiling, which is the most prominent visual element and proved to be the biggest design constraint.
    A central column was wrapped in gold mirror strips and the ceiling ribs were edged with carnival lightsThe designer chose to highlight its geometric faux coffering using four different sunset-hued paints and attaching strings of multi-coloured carnival lights to its ribs.
    A central column, from which the ceiling panels emanate, was wrapped in thin strips of gold mirror and encircled by a counter for placing drinks.
    A red leather banquette tucked into a niche provides a seating areaAt the back of the venue, the raised stage area is painted red, lined with iridescent silver curtains and illuminated by thin neon tubes.
    The diner-esque bar combines yellow-gold laminate, chrome edge banding, amber glass blocks, mosaic tiles and terrazzo flooring to create a nostalgic feel. “1970s club swank was the goal,” Laffite said.

    Mutuus Studio designs inclusive Supernova nightclub in Seattle

    To one side of the bar is a seating area, where red leather banquettes are set into a niche in the wall and accompanied by cafe tables and chairs. Sconces by lighting brand Rich Brilliant Willing add a soft glow.
    Meanwhile, “the restrooms are destinations in themselves,” according to Laffite, who added checkerboard tiles, retro-coloured glazed sink and urinals, and pilled-shaped mirrors.
    In the bathrooms, the designer added checkerboard tiles, retro-coloured sinks and pill-shaped mirrorsThe aim of the project overall was to create a unique spot for locals to enjoy music together, as well as to help revive a once-bustling commercial thoroughfare.
    “The conversion of this former department store (and later bar) into a music venue has returned a social gathering place back to the community, where it will hopefully become a cultural anchor in the revitalisation efforts of the Capitol Hill neighborhood,” said Laffite.
    The venue is located within a mid-century building in Oklahoma City’s Capital Hill neighbourhoodSelf-described as a Midwest-based designer, she founded her own studio in 2021 after working in the Los Angeles design industry for several years.
    Elsewhere in the US, other small performance venues and nightclubs to recently open include Supernova in Seattle, designed by Mutuus Studio to be an inclusive environment for all.
    The photography is by Justin Miers.

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    Mutuus Studio designs inclusive Supernova nightclub in Seattle

    A giant disco ball holds the DJ booth at this nightclub in Seattle, designed by local firm Mutuus Studio to be a “safe and welcoming environment for women, BIPOC, and all members of the LGBTQIA+ community”.

    Supernova was established by DJ Zac Levine with Mutuus Studio, GMD Custom and several artists as an inclusive art and entertainment space.
    The Supernova nightclub is centred around a DJ booth inside a hemispherical disco ballThe nightclub occupies a 6,500-square-foot (604-square-metre) timber warehouse building built in 1937 in Seattle’s SoDo neighbourhood, which was transformed by the team into a two-floor venue.
    “Supernova’s guiding principle was to create a safe and welcoming environment for women, BIPOC, and all members of the LGBTQIA+ community as employees, patrons, and entertainers,” said Mutuus Studio. “Catering to diverse audiences, and self-expression, Supernova welcomes everyone to enjoy a night of dancing, music, and art.”
    The club occupies a former warehouse in Seattle’s SoDo neighbourhoodPatrons enter past graffitied walls and a neon-lit hall of mirrors onto a mezzanine on the upper level, which overlooks the main dance floor below.

    The DJ booth is housed within a huge disco ball, covered in small mirrored tiles and measuring eight feet (2.4 metres) in diameter.
    Rows of disco balls scatter light across the VIP areaThe hemispherical booth sits in the centre of a 30-foot-long (9.1-metre) stage, used by entertainers for performances of all kinds.
    These are accompanied by lighting arranged in diamond patterns behind the booth and other audiovisual equipment suspended from the roof.
    The venue is entered via a hall of mirrors illuminated with neonsA variety of installations can be found throughout the club’s many smaller spaces.
    A VIP area is demarcated by classic red velvet ropes and golden stanchions, beneath a ceiling of more disco balls that scatter light fractals across the dark space below the mezzanine.

    Mutuus Studio converts industrial artefact into Acid Ball installation in Washington park

    In another lounge area, fluorescent panels cut into wavy shapes frame sofas and a pink neon mounted on the back wall.
    Some of the panels swoop down from the ceiling to create additional seating, while the first spans the room’s full height and is punctured by an amorphous shape that forms the doorway.
    Spaces within the club include a lounge framed with wavy fluorescent panelsDrinks are served from a metallic bar, as well as through the front of a vintage Volkswagen van – its windscreen missing but headlights still functioning.
    Supernova currently hosts weekly events, including house music and disco-themed parties on Fridays and Saturdays.
    A vintage Volkswagen van forms a barThe project was completed in July 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when many nightlife venues were hit hard by lockdowns and restrictions.
    In response, creative studio Production Club designed a personal protective suit for clubbing in the time of social distancing, which includes features for phone integration and beverage and vape consumption
    The space is filled with a variety of sculptures and installationsBased in Seattle, Mutuus Studio has completed a wide range of projects in the Pacific Northwest – from designing a cosy farm-to-table restaurant, to turning a large, steel sphere into an installation in a waterfront park.
    The photography is by James Gerde, unless stated otherwise.
    Project credits:
    Mutuus Studio design team: Kristen Becker, Saul Becker, Jim Friesz, Jorge Gomez

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