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May 11, 2009

People-Powered Places and Other Eco Night Clubs

Jen van der Meer

Many Hats, Inhabitat

Summary

Tapping the green lifestyle trend, some bars, restaurants and clubs are creating full-scale environmentally-aware experiences. Moving beyond

Tapping the green lifestyle trend, some bars, restaurants and clubs are creating full-scale environmentally-aware experiences. Moving beyond local and organic sourcing of wine and food, these social spaces use sustainable furnishings, low energy lighting, and even vertical gardens to appeal to more conscious clientele.

In San Francisco, two wine bars set the tone: Yield Wine Bar and XYZ. Both offer organic wines that come from biodynamic vineyards – a method of cultivation that treats farms as holistic self-nourishing systems.

Chicago’s Butterfly Social Club is the brainchild of Mark Klemen, the space has strong natural interior design references, with walls made from sand, clay and straw, and an employee-generated bicycle that powers the lighting and sound system.

In New York City, there’s the eco-friendly nightclub Greenhouse, a 6,000 LEED-certified eye-catching space in SoHo. From sustainable bamboo walls to LED bulbs and even organic uniforms made in Africa by Bono’s wife, Ali Hewsen, Greenhouse is as green as a nightclub can be.

Across the pond in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, WATT, a traveling club concept that will soon be returning to the city, gives dancers an opportunity to power the entire club with their movements. The club’s key feature is an energy-generating dance floor, using piezo-electric technology, and a meter that shows dancers what they are generating.

The rise of such clubs means that environmentally-minded revelers can dance their way to a greener future.