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TUNNELN NIGHTCLUB

LOCATION

MALMÖ, SWEDEN

STATUS

COMPLETED

YEAR

1987

SIZE

1,000 m2

PROGRAM

NIGHTCLUB

PHOTO

BJÖRN BLIXT

Tunneln Nightclub was until the late nineteenth century a narrow, empty passageway leading to a backyard. This can be seen as a parallel to the “route” through a narrow underground sewer system to an open space. On entering the space you take a ceremonial promenade down a long cloaca that culminates in an open theatre - the double-height main space with surrounding mezzanine balconies.

 

At the back of this space you find a huge sculpture of the Pharaoh, perched on sand dunes encased in glass. The dance floor is crude concrete with chromed ladders and a circular brass-lined granite floor. From the ceiling, in grey lattice work, hangs a circular iron form that mirrors the dance floor. The stage floor is of glass, with lit sand underneath. Sand from the desert, on top of it a mobile iron staircase and the mobile golden masque of Tutankhamun, King of Thebes, hovering on top of the dunes.

 

Elements – fire, water, wind and earth – are represented here, giving the place a cosmic sense of power, idolism and mystery reminiscent of ancient temples. The nightclub includes an entrance, the sewer with a cast concrete bar, the piano bar located in a fourteenth century cave, the stage and dance floor, the golden foyer, the balcony bar and The Red Room – the café.

 

Half a floor up, passing by a gate in ruins and adorned with torches and stainless steel lamps with red neon tubes is the entrance to the golden foyer. Completely in brass, the ceiling is a composition in stainless steel and brass depicting the moon and a radiating sun. The floor is covered entirely with sand.

 

From the golden foyer, walking on sand dunes, we arrive at the red room, entirely in stainless steel and brass. The mahogany floor is combined with white marble lined with brass. Between the two stainless steel doors is a mirrored wall that frames the casino area like an altar, and wall lamps like torches in red neon reflect their light onto the ceiling.

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