Stufish

This issue of AD looks at the work of STUFISH Entertainment Architects. Founded by the late Mark Fisher, the legendary British architect known for his rock music stage sets for bands including the Rolling Stones, U2 and Pink Floyd, the studio is a recognised leader in entertainment architecture.

The STUFISH team of architects, designers, visualisers, production managers, technical specialists and producers creates ambitious and pioneering work, exploring new ways to inspire audiences and visitors, from musical experiences to theatrical shows, exhibitions and buildings. Its work has been synonymous with the key theatrical, musical and monumental events embodied in the collective memory of generations across the globe since the mid-1990s.

Entertainment architecture is a highly innovative, creative endeavour, producing ever-more elaborate, architectural spectacles. This issue visits the many facets of STUFISH – its history and design process, audience memory and experience –exploring the story behind and evolution of this particular brand of popular culture and its spatial manifestations, and touching on what the future may hold for it.

Contributors include: Leonard Auerbach, Victoria Broackes, Peter Cook, Adam Davis, Haidy Geismar, Robert Kronenburg, Theo Lorenz, Ash Nehru, Aubrey Powell, Neil Thomas, Willie Williams, Patrick Woodroffe and Maciej Woroniecki.

Neil Spiller is Hawksmoor Chair of Architecture and Landscape and Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Greenwich, London, prior to this he was Dean of the School of Architecture, Design and Construction and Professor of Architecture and Digital Theory. Before this he was Vice-Dean and Graduate Director of Design at the Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL). Neil has guest-edited 7 titles of AD including the highly successful Architects in Cyberspace I and II (1995, 1998), Protocell Architecture (2011) and Drawing Architecture (2013). He is a member of the AD Editorial Board. He has also published books with Thames and Hudson, as author of Visionary Architecture-Blueprints of the Modern Imagination (2006), Digital Architecture Now (2008) and as co-editor of Educating Architects (2014).

Ray Winkler is a RIBA-registered UK architect, and CEO and Design Director of STUFISH Entertainment Architects. He began his design career as a carpenter and craftsman. He earned his Master’s in Architecture from the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London (UCL), and became interested in stage design and mobile architecture while undertaking postgraduate studies at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in Los Angeles. He is drawn to the unique ephemeral and transformative nature of entertainment architecture and its emotional impact on audiences. He has devoted 25 years to designing live touring shows, theatrical projects, and spectacular one-off productions for a number of Summer and Winter Olympics, Commonwealth and Asian Games, and some of their respective handover ceremonies. He has also worked extensively on live TV shows for the BBC, MTV, VH1 and other channels in the US, Japan and UK, and with some of the biggest names in popular entertainment, including Beyoncé, Elton John, AC/DC, U2, the Rolling Stones, Robbie Williams, One Direction and Cirque du Soleil. Recent tours include Elton John’s ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ (2018–23), AC/DC’s ‘Rock or Bust’ (2015–16), Arashi’s live-stream only ‘This Is ARASHI LIVE 2020.12.31’ (2020), the Rolling Stones’ ‘No Filter’ (2017–), and Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s ‘On the Run II’ (2018).