The design for the first edition of the Adriatic Sound Festival created a world that is connected to its historic context while feeling contemporary and otherworldly, where its two stages elevated the dancefloor experience in their own unique way. The host town Fano’s most iconic landmark, the Arc of Augustus, once served as the ancient gateway to Rome and symbolized the union of past and present through music. More than 2000 years later, we used this symbol as a portal to Fano, where people from all over the world congregated, united by music.

The main stage, The Temple, was a 360-audiovisual show with a club environment, which allowed the festival goers to go on journeys of discovery and gather around the artists. Featuring looping arches (both traditional and inverted), it created a continuous infinity loop that reflected the theme of the festival: Beyond Time. 

The DJ booth was a revolving platform, inhabited by guests who became part of the set as a tapestry of dancing bodies. The set extended out onto the main floor through a colonnade of pillars, and the whole space was framed by curving tribunes, giving the feeling of being inside an arena.

The second stage, The Hangar, celebrated the existing architecture of the airport site and highlighted the overarching elements of columns and arches to feel part of the same world. It hosted the techno DJs and had a rave feel with a raw industrial aesthetic, set up in front of the airport hangars.

All stages were locally sourced and built, mainly from rental stock, emphasizing sustainability and the intention to reuse materials in future editions.