Space Ibiza

Planes as part of the dancefloor

In Platja d'en Bossa, the kick drum competed with takeoffs. Space Ibiza stood next to the beach and a stone's throw from the airport runway, and on its Terraza, the crowd would wave at the planes as if they were part of the set. That rarity—tarmac, sea, and air traffic—turned a venue in the middle of a large parking lot into one of the temples of house and techno of the late 20th century.

Pepe Roselló and the afterhour

In 1989, Pepe Roselló, an Ibizan leisure entrepreneur since the sixties, took over the premises. Platja d'en Bossa was a family area back then, far from the Sant Antoni–Amnesia–Pacha axis. Regulations required closing for at least two hours a day; he opened at night and during the day. Those leaving other clubs early in the morning found a second set. That is where the afterhour that Ibiza exported to the world was born.

In 1991, Alex P started to DJ behind the bar; with Brandon Block, the Terraza became legendary. In the late nineties, with Darren Hughes, Sundays stretched to 22 hours, from 08:00 on Sunday to 06:00 on Monday. We Love consolidated that Sunday as a weekly event. The legal change in 2007 shifted much of the daytime party to nighttime hours, but the myth of the Terraza had already been written.

Five rooms and the Funktion-One

The club was not just one dancefloor. La Discoteca, the Terraza, El Salón, the Terraza Sunset, and the Premier Étage formed a labyrinth of five rooms, covered and open-air, with booths rebuilt to place the DJ in front of the crowd. The Funktion-One, extended to all areas, was cited in the industry as one of the best club systems on the planet and accumulated nominations for best sound at the IDMAs.

Carl Cox made Space his Ibizan home for fifteen seasons with Music is Revolution. Sasha, John Digweed, Steve Lawler, Erick Morillo, Richie Hawtin, or Tale of Us passed through those booths. DJ Mag voted it the best club in the world in 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2016; the IDMAs chose it as the best global club in 2005, 2006, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

The 2016 closing

In September 2016, Cox said goodbye with a nine-hour set. On October 2, the venue on Ctra. Platja d'en Bossa pulled down the shutters and the closing also occupied the parking lot. A year later, the same building reopened as Hï Ibiza. The Space brand continued in restaurants, residencies, and other formats; the physical club that waved at the planes remained closed. Whoever looks for that dancefloor today finds another venue on the same plot, not the Space of Roselló.