The world’s very first Sustainable Dance Club recently let partygoers loose on its energy-generating dance floor to the sound of Iggy Pop & The Stooges! Originally rumored to be opened by Amy Winehouse, club Watt, features a LED-laden dance floor that is lit up solely by the kinetic energy generated by dancers. The new nightclub will also feature a variety of efficiency standards established by the Sustainable Dance Club group that allow it to save 30% on energy consumption, 50% on water use, cut CO2 emissions by 30%, and reduce waste by 50%.
Photos: Marc Nolte
Home to a thriving young, creative, and diverse population, Rotterdam is the ideal location for Watt. The new club functions as an iconic representation of what the Sustainable Dance Club group is trying to replicate in nightclubs and festivals around the world: an environmentally aware, interactive, sustainable experience.
Watt features a variety of sustainable strategies that include the use of energy-efficient LED lighting instead of powerhungry spotlights, a rainwater catchment system that supplies water for its toilets, and waterless urinals which will save an expected 1000 cubic meters of water per year. The club’s LED laden dance floor converts each dancer’s kinetic energy into 20W, allowing it to power itself. These features put the club well on its way to reaching the 50% decrease in CO2 emissions mandated by the Rotterdam Climate Initiative.
Enviu‘s Stef van Dongen stresses in his video interview that the sustainable dance floor does not currently power the club, although Watt have stated that they “are looking for a way to use the floor output in the future to power other systems”.
Plans currently exist to open a another Sustainable Dance Club in either London or Berlin, but for now there are many more standout events are lined up for Rotterdam’s young creative population. The club has artists such as the Klaxons, Franz Ferdinand & Hercules and Love Affair taking up the challenge to keep people dancing!
+ Club Watt Rotterdam
+ Sustainable Dance Club
