Wool, Beer, and Wild Woods: Rethinking Territorial Regeneration Through Design

Bilbao BBK Live is a renowned music festival held annually on Mount Kobetamendi in Bilbao, a privileged natural setting that welcomes over one hundred thousand people and features up to 12 stages.

Since 2015, Zuloark has been collaborating with Last Tour to design the festival’s scenographies, always seeking new ways to implement sustainable materials and processes to create unique spaces.

For the 2024 edition, we are taking a step further in rethinking how stages can not only reduce their environmental impact but also become drivers of territorial regeneration, working alongside artists, artisans, biomaterial producers, and carpenters from the Bilbao region.

A Wool Jacket for Txiki

For the design of the Txiki stage, we collaborated with Mutur Beltz, a local cooperative that works with wool from native sheep of the Carranza Valley in Vizcaya. This is an underutilized material, often considered waste, for which this initiative seeks new applications.

We proposed a modular solution using frames made of jute and knotted wool. This way, the wool does not need to be processed and can be reused later.

With this system, we built a stage using a natural, locally sourced material, where artists like Mulatu Astatke, Mujeres, and Shygirl performed. This initiative supports the preservation of native sheep breeds and traditional shepherding practices.

A Beer Stage for a Beer Brand

At San Miguel, a stage sponsored by the namesake brand, we took on the challenge of building a stage for a beer brand using… beer. More precisely, waste from the beer industry.

Bagasse is a byproduct that makes up 85 percent of the waste generated in the production of this beverage. To give it a new purpose, we collaborated with Mad Materials, a project dedicated to innovation and the development of biomaterials.

With them, we designed a system of bio-canvas scales made from bagasse and algae, attached to vertical load straps. Each scale was individually crafted, covering a surface of nearly 100 m²—forming a skin-like texture reminiscent of snakes and serpents from local mythology.

The Wild Woods Return

This year, the “wild woods” couldn’t be left out—a decorative approach in which we reuse wood from previous editions and festivals to create new designs and construction solutions year after year.

Together with local carpenters and suppliers, we designed a geometric system based on basic wooden profiles. This design allows the wood to be transformed and reused in a completely new way each year. The system is applied both to the access portico—a tunnel that welcomed thousands of visitors daily—and to the main stage, Nagusia.

The scenographies of Bilbao BBK Live 2024 thus become a space for collaboration with artisans, innovators, and local materials, demonstrating how design can drive territorial regeneration.

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A pilot project with the wood workshop in Prison N. 12 of Cerro Carancho in Rivera, Uruguay

In October 2024, Campo Adentro invites us to Uruguay to develop a project with the wood workshop at Cerro Carancho prison, as part of the Festival de la Madera. We propose a collaborative system based on prototyping and furniture construction, creating a space where participants can make decisions throughout the process and propose design solutions—an “unfinished” design enriched by their knowledge and experience.

People deprived of freedom, students, and design professionals collaborate to design and build public spaces while contributing new narratives on the forestry crisis. We co-design and construct two pieces of furniture, fostering a dialogue between the inside and outside of the prison and creating experimental spaces for coexistence, co-creation, and collective reflection.

We work with eucalyptus wood profiles of 4×7 cm, helping mitigate the irresponsible consumption of wood in the country by using recycled and low-impact materials.

One of the pieces remains inside the prison, while the other is installed outside. The proposed construction system allows for design modifications throughout the process, using a structure similar to a truss, based on a modular unit that adapts to different needs.

Through this experience, COM-UNIDAD 12 envisions architecture as a tool for social inclusion, education, and environmental awareness.

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Deconstructing the disco ball

The Bilbao BBK Live 2018 festival took place over three days on Mount Kobetas in Bilbao and featured artists such as Florence + The Machine, The XX, Gorillaz, Childish Gambino, and many more.

Zuloark designed the festival’s scenography, embracing circular design and material reuse in line with our “Second Lives” design philosophy and the organization’s commitment to sustainability. The design focused on wood as the main material, reusing structures from previous years with new finishes and compositions.

One of the highlights of this year’s festival was the addition of a new area, Lasai, dedicated to relaxed electronic music.

This time, we aimed to deconstruct an iconic festival element: the mirror disco ball, transforming all festival scenography into mirrors. Each piece reflected the privileged natural surroundings and the atmosphere of BBK 2018, distorting the festival’s reality as if seen through a large kaleidoscope.

Here we share part of the creative process behind Zuloark’s work for Bilbao BBK Live 2018: some of the illustrations that inspired the design and communication of the festival’s scenography. Some of these pieces were constructed, while others were not. This catalog showcases the best proposals from 2018.

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Geometries of Light and Air

The Bilbao BBK Live music festival is one of the most significant events in Spain’s music scene. It takes place every year in the city of Bilbao over three days, attracting a crowd of more than 120,000 people who come to enjoy top-tier music in a spectacular setting: Mount Kobetas.

The 2019 BBK lineup featured bands and artists such as The Strokes, Rosalía, Liam Gallagher, Thom Yorke, Suede, Brockhampton, Idles, Nils Frahm, Vince Staples and many others.

Minimal interventions

In this edition of BBK, we took a step further in applying our sustainability principles to the stage designs, aligning with the festival’s ecological commitment. The shapes of the stages drew inspiration from the BBK 2019 graphic identity, which was based on simple geometries like circles and triangles.

We took the design strategy to a radical level, aiming to use the least material possible. The stage setups were conceived as atmospheres, using the natural landscape, light, and air to define each space with minimal interventions and maximum reduction in construction material.

For instance, the entrances were designed as illuminated geometric tunnels, created from flat triangular shapes. The entry to the Basoa stage featured a large red balloon, and within the space, a giant mirrored sphere hung between the trees, sketching the space with threads of light and smoke.

The design process

We want to share some of Zuloark’s “backstage” work at Bilbao BBK Live 2019 by publishing some illustrations used in the design and communication of the festival stage setups. Some pieces were built, while others we hope to build in another occasion. This catalog gathers the best proposals from 2019:

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Cavololand and the fringed dresses

Bilbao BBK Live is one of the reference festivals in Europe, located in a privileged natural setting, Mount Kobetamendi in Bilbao, which hosts up to 12 stages. At the 2017 Bilbao BBK Live festival, artists such as Depeche Mode, The Killers, Justice, Phoenix, Fleet Foxes, among others, performed. For three days, over 100,000 people enjoyed the music in a spectacular environment.

The festival’s imagery was developed by illustrator Ricardo Cavolo, who created illustrations of elements symbolizing the union between music and nature. We built a series of “cavolized” elements, reinterpreting the essence of the festival in scenic elements. 

Second Lives

In this edition, our focus on the festival’s set design was centered around the reuse of materials from the previous year’s sets, in line with our “Second Lives” design philosophy. This approach recognizes that the life cycle of materials is an integral part of the creative process, in line with the festival’s commitment to sustainability and ecology. For example, the mountains with eyes at the main entrance gave new life to the discarded wood from the previous year’s portal, as did the installation developed at the technical space of the main stage.

The Basoa stage

The Basoa stage is a space dedicated to electronic music and club culture. We designed this more intimate and exclusive area of the festival with a unique atmosphere and meticulous decoration. Basoa hosted DJs and producers from around the world, such as Dixon, The Black Madonna, Bicep, Daphni, Motor City Drum Ensemble and Jon Hopkins, among others.

Inspired by Basoa’s poster designs, we worked with fringes that parasitized reused structures from previous years, like a new “dress” updating the festival’s atmosphere.

The design process

To share a little bit of the design process behind this kind of projects, we showcase part of Zuloark’s “kitchen” at Bilbao BBK Live 2017. Below are some illustrations that served for the design and communication of the festival scenery. Some of these pieces were built, while others we hope will be some day.

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Wild Woods: A living design looking towards the future

The Bilbao BBK Live Music Festival is one of the most important events on the Spanish music scene. This festival takes place in the city of Bilbao over three days, attracting a crowd of over 100,000 people who come to enjoy the best music in a spectacular setting, Mount Kobetas.

The 2016 edition of Bilbao BBK Live featured an impressive lineup of artists, including some of the most important bands and musicians of the moment. Festival-goers had the opportunity to enjoy live performances by Pixies, Arcade Fire, New Order, Tame Impala, Foals, Father John Misty, M83, Hot Chip, Underworld, Courtney Barnett, and many others.

Wild Woods

The ticket check entrance of the festival was made out of plain two meter long wood that could easily be used for other structures in the future editions of the festival. This kind of construction was called “Wild Woods”.

Zuloark designed the scenery and infrastructure, using living materials like wood. In line with our philosophy of design “Second Lives” and with the organization commitment with sustainability, this approach allowed the reuse of pieces in future editions of the festival, saving costs and reducing environmental impact.

Additionally, we used leftovers from pruning and live vegetation to transform some of the festival’s infrastructure, such as FOH (Front of House) and PEAS (sound lifting platforms), which support audio equipment.

The “Camp”

To design and build the project, a team comprising the client, designers, and producers worked in a format we call “The Camp”. This format transforms the festival production into a collaborative workshop that brings ideas to life in the final results, using the execution phase as an opportunity for shared learning.

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The hybrid outcome of a construction workshop, a space for celebration and a non-waste landscape

In the small village of Ronda (Malaga, Spain) there is an old stone built monastery with views at the valley, now converted into a winery house. This is the place where the UVA Music Festival took place, during the summers of 2017 and 2018, being definitely one of the most incredible landscapes we have ever worked at.

Collaborative construction

Every time we face a new project, we always look for the factors that would allow us to extract an educational value out of the process. A certain place is potentially a shared place, as long as it is being conceived, designed and constructed via liberal collaboration among the involved working groups. 

At UVA Festival, the scenographic setting-up process of the festival was transformed into a knowledge-exchanging workshop, while developing the construction of prototypes along with young students and professionals with proper interests in music, architecture, visual arts, etc. In other words, we converted the set up of a music festival into an academy, a space and time zone of proximal development to teach and be taught.

Non – waste landscape

We consider extremely necessary to pre-plan the waste impact that any kind of ephemeral or permanent architectural operation leaves to each place or landscape. We try to give our projects a second life, other than their initial purpose. In both UVA Festival editions, part of the interventions have been distributed in public educational and cultural centers of the town of Ronda.

UVA Festival 2018

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Scenographies for a City – Festival

Bilbao BBK Live is one of Spain’s most important music festivals, drawing thousands of people each year. It takes place annually on Mount Kobetamendi, just outside Bilbao. For three days, renowned international and local artists perform across multiple outdoor stages, creating an experience that fuses music and culture.

Since 2015, Zuloark has collaborated as the art director, designing and constructing the festival’s infrastructures and stage sets. This work has allowed us to delve into circular design strategies, emphasizing material reuse and regenerative architecture. Additionally, we have developed research and experimentation around spaces designed for celebration.

The City – Festival

The biggest challenge of this project is to envision a festival-city that lasts three days and hosts 150,000 people, while efficiently managing resources—material, environmental, and human.

Second lives and circular materiality

In each edition of the festival, we commit to sustainable and circular design strategies, such as reusing materials from stage designs from previous years. We design with local materials like wood, striving, whenever possible, to create designs using uncut pieces to facilitate recycling.

Nature as scenography

The festival takes place in a unique natural setting, and our work incorporates this environment into many of the stage designs, integrating the landscape as an essential part of the experience. Additionally, we include plant-based waste materials, gathered from maintenance and pruning efforts in the area throughout the year, into our designs.

Scenes for a party

The design is envisioned as a sensory environment that brings magic and mystery to life, reimagining infrastructures as spaces crafted for the extraordinary.

“The Campsite” co-design

One of Zuloark’s key roles in the festival is designing the collaborative working environment for the teams involved. Zuloark participates in every stage, from art direction to the construction of the stages. Production is organized in a format we call “The Camp”: a group that brings together a wide network of agents, from the Last Tour organizers to everyone involved in the conceptualization and construction of the stage designs.

Awards

The Bilbao BBK Live festival has been recognized by B Corp as a festival that “meets the highest environmental and social standards, placing the planet at the core of its strategy to make a positive impact”.

In 2019, the Basoa stage from Bilbao BBK Live 2018 won the “Festival Of The Future Awards”.

Additionally, in 2020, Bilbao BBK Live received the “Best Major Festival powered by SGAE” and “Best Infrastructure” awards at the 2020 Iberian Festival Awards.

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The Festival de la Madera (‘Wood Festival’) is celebrated every year in Rivera, Uruguay, to highlight the value of wood (local main raw material) through architecture and design. It is organized by Campo Abierto, an innovative platform for exchange and experimentation with a focus on multidisciplinarity and cultural diversity. In the first edition of this Festival, we proposed what we called Operation Nickel, with two main objectives:

On the one side, the development of a workshop so that a heterogeneous group of people with different backgrounds can design a seedlings greenhouse in a collaborative way, making all members define both the design process and the construction.

On the other side, experimentation with remnants of eucalyptus wood, very accessible in the area, in order to generate new constructive solutions to be replicated and developed in this typology and in others.

Our work focuses on generating the necessary conditions for the synthesis of an effective group that would resolve the design and construction of the greenhouse in an autonomous way. We work on the basis of how a group without apparent coordination nor relevant individual knowledge can give intelligent answers and solve complex problems, showing the capacity for greater adaptability instead of rigid hierarchies.

The protocol focuses on building this capacity for self-management by releasing the decision-making throughout the process until a complete automaton operation is achieved. This leaves to the group decisions such as the measurements of the frames, reaching the capacity to manage any unexpected events and to resolve those predicted.

As a final result, in addition to having reached constructive details and optimal technologies, we have had the determination to leave the process open, collecting all the learnings, from constructive details to social technology, in an open-source manual.

With free access to this information to anyone who wants to reproduce, replicate or develop the model, we intend to contribute to the popular wisdom and engage ourselves with the collective intelligence of the place.

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Ephemeral architecture inspired in the local mythology for a music festival in Cádiz

Wakana Lake Reunion is a music festival set in a unique natural environment near the Celemín Reservoir in Cádiz, Spain. In collaboration with the Ensalada Works team, we design the spaces for its first edition, including two stages and a lightweight wooden tunnel connecting them.

The festival’s location, Wakana, is renowned for its mythical aura, preserving traces of ancient legends in its caves adorned with prehistoric paintings (such as the Tajo de las Figuras) and a collection of dolmens. Some researchers even suggest that this site could be the location of the legendary city of Atlantis.

The design of the stage elements draws inspiration from mythical bestiaries. The main stage combines features of a peacock and a fish, while the second stage fuses forms reminiscent of a hummingbird and an elephant. The transition between the two stages is marked by an illuminated wooden passageway.

Wood is the central material, chosen for its natural, sustainable qualities and ease of dismantling after the event. Other local materials, such as palm leaves, are used for coverings and decorations, reinforcing the connection with the surrounding environment.

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