BARN arch.'s red bull music academy stage at babylon soundgarden festival

constructed this summer for the babylon soundgarden music festival on kilyos beach, istanbul, the red bull music academy (RBMA) stage is a temporary installation realized by turkish studio BARN arch. the structure is fragmented into five stands, including the stage for DJ performances, two bars and a water supply. built with a layher speedy scaffolding system, the project has been built in 22 hours, exposed 34 hours and disassembled in just 2 hours.

 video courtesy of BARN arch.

BARN arch. defines the project as a space dominating the stage, and not vice versa. in order to do that, the installation is envisioned with circles and their derivatives : the stage becomes the central hub around which four volumes are located. in addition, space, sound and lighting systems are distributed throughout the five stands to avoid any signigicant contrast. at the 2015 babylon soundgarden music festival, the stage was installed on sand on the densest axis of the festival area and running parallel to the coast: this positioning enabled the audience to fully experience the backstage. therefore,  the studio has decided to adopt a similar layout, right on the coast. given the exclusive DJ performances throughout its programme, the stage is conceptualized as a volume that communicates with the audience via four open sides to increase the ‘impact area’ that runs parallel to the whole beach.

the installation is built with the layher speedy scaffolding system
all images courtesy of BARN arch.

considering the existing conditions, sea, nature and wind are the only parameters that have affected the selected materials. in an attempt to highlight sea and sand as the greatest strengths of the festival, aluminium-profiled mirrors are carefully positioned as fragments due to strong winds in the kilyos area. these broken up pieces create intriguing and various perspectives through different angles. 

space design is realized by compacting the relevant units and reducing their horizontal extension on plan view

forms and volumes vary across each structural unit thanks to the layher speedy scaffolding system 

the installation is built in 22 hours, exposed 34 hours and disassembled in just 2 hours

the central DJ performance stage 

aerial view: entrance/exit area between the main axis of the festival and RBMA area allows for easier circulation

BARN arch. RBMA stage design for babylon soundgarden: one day music festival by BARN arch. 

night view during festival day 

top view showing the concentration of people around the stage 

diagrammatic plans: layout  

diagrammatic plans: volumes and circulation 

 
sections 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom