With its inauguration on January 18th, 2003, Qi clubbing in Franciacorta (BS) debuted brilliantly among the leaders of the Italian entertainment scene. This was due to its trendy, innovative look inspired by the important “European-style” clubs, created by directors Gino Liguori and Alda Civelli and art director Lello Mascolo, But where does this original name come from? Qi stands for Intelligence Quotient in Italian and Qui “Here, now!”. Just like the two letters whose shape forms the club’s ground plan. Simple, clean lines, and accentuated theatricals combined with technology, lights, video projections in an impressive architectural setting for seeing and being seen: where the show and the spectator are one and the same. And still more shapes and forms which appear and disappear, a masterful use of light effects, special glass, fabrics, mechanical devices, computer graphics, all in a powerful machine able to move and transform in space.
the club’s zones: “Q” and “i”
Designed by Beppe Riboli, the club is divided into two main areas: “Q”, the large mechanical/dynamic cylinder and “i”, the motionless and crystallized container are both protagonists of the show and an observation point for eating, observing and talking.
The large cylinder is composed of three different plates on different levels almost like interconnecting floors with bars, a private club, performances and a dj. This space was designed to be transformed with ease: a place where anything can happen. This is Qi’s heart, beneath a towering ceiling which exalts the club’s magnificence.
“I” is a fixed area built on two levels that face the cylinder. It contains a bar and restaurant, but it is an area that transcends traditional designs with highly original and flawless decor (from the lamps to the furnishings with Rossi di Albizzate, Ycami, Phillipe Stark and Ingo Maurer original designs), dj console and cocktail bar.
In this part of the club, you’ll find the diner, a restaurant with a superb chef (Luca Casadio) open from Thursday to Sunday.
The Clay Paky lighting system
Qi would not be complete without a first-class lighting system designed and created for maximum performances in any situation. Liguori relied on the experience of Stefano Carelli and Remo Florio, the owners of DeeJay Service in Cosenza. Deejay Service is a distributor of Clay Paky products found in discotheques and dance halls around the world. The dance floor was lit with Stage Light 300‘s, placed on a large circular trusses in the centre of the room. The most astounding effect was created with Golden Spot 1200‘s and CP Color 400‘s. They coloured the cylinder’s walls with an endless combination of backgrounds, colours and moving as well as still images. The layout of the interiors was carefully studied in order to match the light design using the whiteness of the walls as perfect backdrop for the light effects.
The light system was completed with 4 Mini Scan HPE’s used in the refreshment area.