What's the Project?

Playascape is a large undulating amphitheatre encouraging exploration and social connection. Visitors can come sit; lounge; lie; climb; watch; perform - the opportunities are wide and wild. Everyone can become a performer of sorts, on their own terms - or take refuge in the shade, and find peace in its valleys. The contours weave together gentler and steeper journeys, encouraging investigation.

Playascape orients to both sunrise and sunset, and offers extensive shade at noon, with all sorts of nooks to huddle into. At night, we welcome the Playa’s magnificent sounds cars to come dock with us. As their beats ring out across the desert, our community rises to their feet and dances across the illuminated contours - forming a magical wall of dancers.

What's your motivation for doing it?

We want to provide a beautiful, useful social space: a platform for creativity and culture, as well as a space of refuge and respite. We’d like to unlock and unleash imaginations and performances. For people to come together, and connect. Our lead hasn’t been back to the Burn for 20 years - and feels he owes the community something to make up for that absence. A recent shift in family circumstances means he can finally spend the month in Nevada that this project needs to get built.

Who are you?

Alex Haw - the motor behind the project - is an artist and architect. By day he designs sensual, sculptural spaces that prompt human interaction; by night he arranges large, immersive, high-production costume events, similarly centred on enabling participants. Playascape converges these 2 passions - spaces & people.

More widely, we’re a heterogeneous team from all around the world, assembled in the belief that this project offers something beautiful and valuable. Team members embody a variety of expertise - from engineering to rigging, lighting to electronics, management to event planning, DJing to performing - all driven by the same call to gift the best experience possible.

How are you making it?

Playascape’s made using a technique we’ve explored intensively: CNC-routed plywood components that can be quickly assembled. We've designed an intricate 3D model, replete with intense articulation and perforation, which we split into parts and cut with a computerised machine at the wonderful maker space in Reno - the Generator. Each part is clearly labelled with an address, enabling a non-specialist build team to easily identify its location within the whole. We’ll spend 8 days preparing parts, test-assembling + adding electronics in Reno, then 5 putting it altogether on Playa.

What happens to it after Burning Man?

We are delighted that our good friends at non-profit We Are From Dust are almost certainly going to take it (gifted) as 1 of only 2 projects they will curate from the Playa this year. Their current plan is to relocate Playascape to Point San Pablo Harbor (PSPH), a marina and recreational boat harbor overlooking the Bay in Richmond, California; we thus journey from lake-bed to sea. So between Man & Temple Burns on Sunday we’ll disassemble it all and neatly load a truck to ferry it to its future. This plan does, however, depend on them raising the necessary funds to cover transport, insurance and any labour costs, so we are having to remain open to other options; if you're interested - please do get in touch!

What about funds?

We've battled to find all the money ourselves. We've organised 5 separate fundraiser events in London that have collectively raised $28,000. We also just hit our initial early target of  $19k (lowered for achievability) on this final crowdfund campaign - totalling $47,000. A massive Thank You to all those that made vital contributions, and helped share the campaign. 

We're still $15,000 short - on a minimised budget based only on material costs (absolutely no fees, flights, food or hotels). We need that extra to enable us build the project to the maximum size we can - as wide and tall as possible, with amazing lighting:

An extra $6000 (47>53k) allows us to build the final missing bays, though at a lower height.

A further $4000 (53>57k) allows us to then finally build it all to the maximum height we need.

A further $5,000 (57>62k) allows us to finally add beautiful addressable-pixel LED lighting.

What does the money go on?

300 sheets of 8x4' sustainably-sourced birch plywood + 200 timber battens

+ 1 Month CNC time + 1km LEDs + cabling + controls

+ 25,000 screws + waterproof glue; tools; generator; space-rental; transport

Why should I support you?

This is an utterly unique project and moment - extraordinary architecture hosting incredible performances (Robot Heart + Mayan Warrior + so much amazingness). 

We have everything in place to make this happen - a large, enthusiastic and talented team, with space, flights, hotels & equipment booked; we just now need a final investment. We believe this project will be socially transformative  - on playa and beyond. We believe it will bring joy, opportunity and connection. Maybe now with a sound legacy secured you too can now come enjoy it. Many people would be very grateful for anything you can give.

Whatever happens we're coming & gifting this; please help us make the gift supreme.