A two-storey floating deck with room for 550 people will be moored in Docklands this spring and summer after the City of Melbourne green-lit the city’s first floating open-air club and event space. It opens this Saturday, October 22.
Called Atet, the deck is modelled on the European day clubs of Mykonos, Ibiza and Berlin, and will be a hub for electronic music. Built on the repurposed Alma Doepel barge, the 570-square-metre space will have an expansive open deck with a smaller mezzanine level above, two bars and a kitchen. It’ll have a geometric frame structure lined with LED lighting, which will be used to create an ambient sensory experience. When the weather turns, the deck can be enclosed by clear PVC.
Atet will be docked in Docklands for 12 months, on North Wharf beneath the Bolte Bridge towers, and will offer views of Melbourne’s skyline across Victoria Harbour. It’s mobile, and organisers say there are plans for the deck to be moved for future events at Port Phillip Bay.
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SHOP NOW“Atet is more than just a bar on water – we are channelling the open-air day party experience of festivals and day clubs around Europe and providing it on a regular basis in the heart of Melbourne,” says Jake Hughes, who’s behind Atet, in a statement. “There is a sense of freedom induced by this environment that can’t be replicated indoors.”
Hughes, who is a DJ, says Atet gets its name from a solar barge used by the sun god Ra in ancient Egyptian mythology. Ra would travel through the sky on the barge and provide light to the world.
The launch party will run from 1pm to 1am on the 22nd. On the line-up? Cane Trott, Clare Choveaux, Donald’s House, Olivas, PDC, Petra, Very Jerry and Walter Juan.
Atet is opening at 1 N Wharf Road, Docklands on Saturday October 22. The launch party will run from 1pm to 1am, with tickets on the door only.
This article was updated on October 20 to reflect the announcement of the opening date launch party.
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