From 1 April the anti Covid-19 restrictions are also loosened in the nightclub. But how is the rebirth of entertainment planned? We talked about it with Gianni Arnaudo, author of the most radical Italian clubs

Soon back to dance in disco, as in the past. The step away from the long-awaited 'normality', in fact, is about to shorten further: from Friday 1 April, shows, museums, exhibitions, outdoor parties and public ceremonies are once again free to enter. And, together with them, also discos, among the most affected by the pandemic. From 1 April they will be able to welcome again at full capacity (we remind you that until now the limit was set at 50% for indoor venues and 75% for outdoor ones).

Discos and Covid rules: two years of suffering

Discos is perhaps the most penalized sector: they only worked a few months on a two-year stop.

Some, such as La Capannina di Franceschi in Forte dei Marmi, have never reopened. A unicum considering that from its first day of activity, in 1929, the historic Versilia disco had stopped only during the Second World War. "We activated an outdoor lounge bar service during the warmer months", says Stefano, room manager. "And it was the only form of night entertainment (besides dinner) from January 2020 until last February, when we reopened".

Going back to dancing: but how? Gianni Arnaudo speaks

Thinking today of returning 'to the dance floor' to dance brings with it some questions, perplexities and uncertainties that design and architecture can try to dispel, explains Gianni Arnaudo, architect and author (first with Studio65 and then as a soloist) of the most radical Italian nightclubs in the 70s and 80.

Reinventing spaces, even with technology

“My post-pandemic disco has essential design elements placed in scenographic spaces, even in height, transformed into multisensory experiences by modern artificial intelligence systems," says Arnaudo.

"Abstract multicolored images that interact with people, adapting to the human presence and his movements. In an elevated position, the bar, which can never be missing, with 3D viewers, to discover new lighting effects".

Furnishings in harmony with the light system

Among well-known novelties, such as the sanitizing columns in the most varied guises, and creative proposals aimed at bringing the user back to the dance floor, ironic and comfy pieces are born such as the 'YouMellow' sofa by Arnaudo: “They are modular sofas with soft broad essential shapes and countless combinations of colors, in assonance with the light system. There is also a personal memory of mine in the "In memory of Theo dog" pouf. Architecture, like other artistic manifestations, must provoke thought in an evolutionary sense".

A virtual that mixes attraction and fear, with sweetness

Two years of forced quarantines and the use of screens as the only means of contact leave us a normalization of the use of the virtual, which, in this case, leaves the house to reach the track.

"The result of the coexistence between these two worlds, increasingly normal especially for young people", continues Arnaudo, "is a dematerialized reality, with the use of recent digital technologies ( machine learning and real time render ) that underline the paradoxes of our living in this time, where attraction and fear of others coexist together with a need for sweetness”, continues Arnaudo.

The irony to interpret

"Irony is an ancient tool of analysis and criticism, it is part of my DNA and has always been reflected in my architecture and design works," continues Arnaudo. "Starting with the objects for the Multiple Gufram dei Fratelli Gugliermetto and for all the others, the table Déjeuner sur l'Arbre , in the collection permanent collection of the Center Pompidou, and those designed for Slide, such as the coffee table Tea Time , in the gold version acquired from the permanent collection of the ADAM Museum in Brussels".

The concept of the club developed from 1960 to 1990, is now history. It was celebrated by the Night Fever: Designing Club Culture exhibition, inaugurated in 2018 at the V & amp; A Museum in Dundee and organized by the Vitra Design Museum, with which Arnaudo has been collaborating for years.

"My discotheque projects, exhibited in the exhibition, are transgressive assemblages of all the symbols of power and decidedly ironic: the" Paolina B "- whose name was the verse of the famous" Jackie'O " of Rome - it was a flashy set of irreverent quotes and spectacular effects, which I had created to mock the cult of kitsch opulence of the 1980s. Obviously it was a huge success and a young Albert of Monaco also came to see it shortly after the inauguration" , concludes Arnaudo. His architectures are manifest, ideas expressed with the force of the POP language.