SPLASH HOUSE: SAGUARO
MODULAR STAGE SYSTEM: VERSION 2
Design: HNZLR
Client: Goldenvoice / AEG
Founder, Executive Producer: Tyler McLean
Festival Director: Cameron Carbone
Engineering: Mor Engineers
Fabrication: Coachella Art Dept.
Scenic Fabricator: Paul Clemente
Shade Fabrication & Rigging: Lunosol
Site: The Saguaro Palm Springs
Concept: Saguaro Greenhouse
SCOPE:
principal design
creative direction
computational design
technical design
build book authorship
fabrication management
build direction
PROJECT SCOPE
Building on the bespoke portal-and-scaffolding system developed in 2024, HNZLR returned as Principal Designer and Creative Director to evolve The Saguaro main stage into a fully realized spatial environment.
The 2025 iteration focused on refinement, modular optimization, and experiential performance. All system components were cataloged and reconfigured into a linear, stage-forward composition, extending the architecture laterally to support a wider DJ performance zone and integrated audience platforms. This transformation marked the project’s shift from sculptural installation to fully operational stage ecology where structure, circulation, and performance were unified into a single system.
Key advancements:
A linearized architectural layout replacing the prior stacked composition
A 20-foot custom DJ booth, embedded within the portal language to anchor the performer visually and spatially
Dual wing platforms flanking the DJ booth, allowing guests to occupy stage level and become visible, performative extensions of the crowd
Two 15-foot portal towers extending the design language into the crowd, transforming the installation into a distributed spatial system
A rigged shade canopy, suspended from the scaffolding and surrounding trees, creating a lowered ceiling that improves comfort and spatial intimacy
The result was a more legible, scalable, and immersive architecture - one that extended beyond the stage into the audience field.
modular reassembly
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TECHNICAL DRAWING
With over a decade of industry draughtsman experience, HNZLR develops rigorously precise technical drawings to specify design intent to vendors and fabrication teams.
PORTAL TOWERS
HNZLR introduced the Portal Towers as a new vertical extension of the Saguaro stage system. Repurposed 5’ portals from 2024 were stacked into triple-height monuments, fabricated in white-finished steel, projecting the stage language and recessed lighting design outward into the crowd.
WAVE CANOPY
To ensure a more intimate and comfortable experience, HNZLR introduced a low-hanging shade canopy, rigged from the stage into the surrounding trees. the gradient blue fabric extended the project’s color language while forming catenary curves that produced a soft, undulating geometry overhead. The canopy filtered light across the dance floor, creating a cooled, immersive atmosphere reminiscent of moving water.
DJ BOOTH PORTAL
To complement the expanded, stage-forward performance zone, HNZLR designed a custom 20-foot DJ booth that extended the portal language into a continuous rectilinear form. Finished in white to receive and reflect light, the elongated structure anchored the artist within a wide, centralized platform while maintaining a low, near eye-level relationship to the crowd. This positioning created an intimate, recessed lighting condition that hovered just above the surrounding foliage—reinforcing proximity between performer and audience.
PHOTOGRAPHY
