Feald Studio Are The The Future Of Stage Design

Feald Studio is a design collective co-founded by five friends, exploring the sensory impact of temporary architecture, installations and creative interventions. Shaped by architecture and the underground music scene, they're interested in how simple spatial moves can transform the way a space feels and is experienced together. We caught up with the group of mates to dig deeper into the process and inspiration behind the stages that make a festival's environment pop.

How would you describe what you offer to the world of stage design?

We think you can do a lot with very little. We want to bring a fresh perspective to stage and spatial design across both underground and mainstream dance music, without relying on huge production budgets.

There’s a growing appetite for a more considered party experience, designed with the same care as the music, sound and lighting. We respond to each brief individually, drawing from the identity of the client and the story of the party or festival to shape something specific to that setting.

Coming from architecture, we’re conscious of the climate emergency. Our smaller-scale work lends itself to a cyclical approach, using discarded or surplus materials as affordable, unexpected design opportunities while giving them a second life.

We want to create things that are functional, visually engaging and shaped by what we’d want to experience ourselves.

How did it all begin? How did you meet and get the inspiration to start Feald?

Like many good friendships, ours started on the dance floor. We were all studying architecture across London and gradually became friends through the music and parties we were going to.

With a shared architectural background and interests beyond it, ideas came naturally. Feald grew from conversations about spaces, stages and things we wanted to make, turning those ideas into something physical.

What project are you most proud of?

It’s difficult because every project has given us something different, and if you asked each of us individually you’d probably get five different answers.

But Sarum Point definitely deserves a special mention. It felt like a turning point for us, both in the scale of what we were doing and the amount of trust we were given.

They’ve built a genuinely communal festival atmosphere. Designing and building both the pre-party and Talus, the main stage, allowed us to explore that identity at two very different scales.

It was one of those projects where the people, setting and brief all aligned. We enjoyed making it, and hopefully that came through in how people experienced and used the spaces.

Which festivals do you look to for inspiration?

We look to festivals that treat space and design as part of the wider experience. Draaimolen Festival inspires us through its ambition, variety and technical ingenuity, while Houghton shows how simple structures can frame the music and lighting without competing with them.

We also hugely admire Horst Arts & Music Festival for the way it brings art, architecture and music together, often through collaborations with emerging design studios. Its temporary nature allows for ambitious, technically inventive structures that become part of the festival’s identity and how the music is experienced.

From an architectural perspective, we’re also inspired by raumlaborberlin and their use of temporary architecture as a tool for occupation and protest. Their work integrates material experimentation and reuse to create open-ended, socially engaged spaces that evolve through use. Their 2025 project Sedimente – Insel 4 is a recent favourite of ours.

How is the space evolving, and how much does it have to do with the mini festival boom and the craving for intimate, IRL spaces?

It feels like the space is only just getting started. As smaller venues disappear and major festivals become more expensive, there’s a growing appetite for intimate, well-curated events that feel more personal, experimental and connected to their audience.

For us, that creates an exciting space for design — you don’t need enormous stages or production budgets to make something memorable. Small interventions can have a big impact on how people gather, dance and move through a space. 

Since forming Feald, we’ve also met some great groups working in a similar spirit, including Taking Shape, Category 5 and Parametrica, which makes the scene feel increasingly collaborative and exciting.

What’s next for Feald?

After a busy summer, we want to keep experimenting within the club and event scene, with a few exciting things already emerging for next summer.

Ultimately, we want to keep working with people who give us the freedom to experiment, make things and create spaces we’d want to experience ourselves.

📝: Kelly Washington