Clap Studio remakes iconic Spanish nightclub as an acoustic study

For proprietors of nightclubs—or anyone dealing with excessively loud neighbors—controlling noise can be essential. Yet fully eradicating unwanted sound is famously challenging. Rooms engineered to absorb nearly all reflections, often called dead rooms, rely on specialized materials and acoustic know-how (think: vocal booths used for recording). Taking inspiration from that idea, the up-and-coming Valencia design collective Clap Studio reworked one of the rooms inside an emblematic local music venue with the ambition of achieving pristine sound.

A long-standing bastion of techno, SPOOK belongs to La Ruta del Bakalao (also known as “Ruta Destroy”), the famed 18-mile club corridor along the CV-500 that fueled Spain’s and Europe’s electronic music culture in the 1980s and ’90s. When Clap Studio, a neighborhood practice, was commissioned to redesign one of SPOOK’s rave rooms, the brief prioritized architectural clarity of sound: sharp, uncolored, and immediate—more like a studio than a typical club interior.

Finished earlier this year, the approximately 1,500-square-foot room is clad in an array of pointed pyramid modules that run across the ceiling, wrap around pillars, and cover the walls. Some of these elements are cast in dark gray concrete, while others are formed from polyurethane foam, serving double duty as acoustic treatment while intensifying the space’s severe, minimal aesthetic.

The renovated SPOOK is painted entirely in a palette of deep blues, ranging from intense ultramarine finishes to lighter blue speakers that were rescued from the prior fit-out and given a fresh coat. Even the venue’s lighting contributes an indigo wash over the dance area, contrasted by a sharp ice-blue glow coming from the bar. Within this deliberately near-monochrome environment, the subtle variations in tone and light create bold visual contrasts.

Honoring the club’s 1980s lineage, Clap Studio also crafted a bespoke sofa and matching pouf using leftover denim fabric. It’s a modest touch, but one that speaks to SPOOK’s overall approach: keeping fragments of its history visible while transforming the space for a new chapter.