Police had suspected foul play in the incident, and the owners said its unique circumstances would keep them from recouping costs through insurance. In a Facebook post, they have now confirmed that the building is beyond repair. “We now have learned that the fire has damaged the structural integrity of the building so much that it has to be removed completely,” it reads. “We still don’t know how much our landlord’s building insurance will cover and to what extent other insurance companies will cover other damages.”

A silver lining that gives the owners hope is that the outdoor area appears salvageable. “…We know that we are only saying goodbye to the building here and not to the idea of [ipsə], which is carried by our team,” the post closed out. “We want to do everything we can to reopen with a changed concept since most of our open air area remains intact…”

[ipsə] will require assistance to carry on in one form or another. To that end, the club has launched a StartNext fundraiser that has raised over 21,000 of its 50,000 goal at the time of writing.

“As police confirmed today, [ipsə] was the victim of arson, leading to the complete destruction of the entire indoor area and parts of the outdoor area,” reads a Facebook post from the club on Tuesday. “We are still speechless. Standing in the ruins of what dozens of people put years of energy and passion into is almost excruciating—and it is unbearable to imagine that this happened purposefully. And to make it worse: due to the specific situation insurance companies won’t compensate the damage to our entire inventory, including the technical equipment.”

[ipsə] holds roughly 700 and caters to fans of house and techno. The club had recently called off all events for the foreseeable future amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Music fans hoping to see ipse renovate and resume operations can donate to the club via their Start Next page.