Club 4 Climate launches eco-nightclub



Electricity harnessed through its dance floor, organic and fairtrade wines, hydroponics and interior furnishings derived from waste products – the accoutrements of the ‘eco-nightclub’ – will be unveiled tonight in London.


Surya, conceived by self-funding foundation Club 4 Climate, is hoping to set an ecologically sound blueprint for the leisure industry through its ‘eco-nightclub’ and ten-step ‘Green clubbing’ manifesto.


The idea, according to Club 4 Climate founder, property developer and entrepreneur Andrew Charalambous is to stir a ‘gentle revolution’ and create a more positive perception of a social scene that has been tainted by drug use and binge drinking.


‘We want to provide a gateway to the younger generation and reconnect with something more positive,’ says Charalambous.


He explains that the £200 000 ‘bespoke’ dance floor made from crystal and ceramic materials uses piezo electricity technology that can transform the vibrations created by movement into electric current.


‘The amount of energy produced by the dance floor depends on a large number of variables, like how many people there are, how much they dance, and how much they weigh. We’re hoping that if we have a busy Friday or Saturday night, that we can generate enough electricity to use on quieter ones,’ says Charalambous.


Founder of Seed Foundation Social Environmental Enterprise & Design Clare Brass says, ‘I have heard about this technology and I am really keen to see if it works. I think it is important to explore all the possibilities and to exploit opportunities to communicate climate change across all the various aspects of our lives.’


Charalambous says he has invested £1m of his own money, and has brought on board exhibition and interior design consultancy Spice Lumb to translate the eco-manifesto into the eco-nightclub blueprint.


Other features that Charalambous hopes will become the interior hallmarks of sustainable clubbing are reclaimed wood, marmoleum tiles constituted from linseed oil and waste wood shavings, a bar created from unwanted mobile phones melted down, and chandeliers created from disposed biros – in similar vein to lighting designer Stuart Haygarth.


In response to possible concerns about the authority in benchmarking the sustainability of the project, Charalambous says, ‘It’s more important to disseminate the idea – sustainability – it’s all arbitrary. The best evidence is not scientific, it’s empirical.’


Club 4 Climate’s launch comes after last month’s news that the Design Council is mooting a scheme in conjunction with the British Standards Institution to create a Kitemark-type standard that rates products on sustainability.


Surya launches tonight with sets by Queens of Noize and Coldcut at 156 Pentonville Road, London N1.

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