By Mary-Ellen Gordon

FEBRUARY 1990 -- Say goodbye to the quietly opulent clubs of the Eighties, where house music bounced off velvet settees and old chandeliers. Move into the post-industrial style of the Nineties, where BLDG rules.

Once a Con Ed substation, the four-level BLDG (short for Building and located at 51 West 26 St. at Sixth Ave.) is straight out of "Metropolis." "We tried to use design at a minimal, basic level and let the energy of the people on the dance floor fill up the space," says Carlos Almada, an architect who opened the club along with Chuck Crook, Patrick Moxey and Howard Schaffer about one month ago. "It's our statement about post-industrial America."

BLDG goes by a different name every night it's open-if it's Thursday, it must be Night Train. Friday it's Powerhouse. Saturday it's Cultural Sushi. SO far, Thursday is the night to be seen-everyone is there, from models and the usual downtown girls in micro-minis, to pretty boys in tight, ripped-up jeans and homeboys taking up mega space on the dance floor. Gordon Henderson prefers the fourth-level VIP lounge though.

Get there late-definitely after midnight-and take a cue from the club's design when getting dressed-be minimal.

© WSCENE 1990