SPECTRA, Coachella Festival:
Co-op Live, Manchester:‘ Citylink’ Walking Route
STRATEGY, CONCEPT & EXPERIENCE DESIGN: Masterplanning & Concept Development Studios
NEWSUBSTANCE
Where design meets drama. NEWSUBSTANCE is a multidisciplinary creative studio at the intersection of arts, entertainment and culture. For 20 years, we have been orchestrating physically-led, technology-enhanced spectacles that compel audiences and capture imaginations. Find us in the space where design meets drama, working with honesty and ingenuity to create brave interventions across arts, entertainment and culture. We bring broad expertise and bold ambition to deliver extraordinary experiences and spaces – from creative conception to immersive execution.
Our work blends artistry and engineering, blurring the lines between technology and physicality to spark meaningful, memorable human connections. Think spine-tingling stories and stunned silences. Moments that leave a trail of wide eyes, open minds and racing hearts. Because at our core, we are moment makers. Pursuers of pin-drop pauses and thundering applause. A relentlessly curious collective of creatives, craftspeople, architects, artists, engineers, producers, pioneers, strategists and specialists.
We love what we do.
SPECTRA, Coachella Festival:
Starting with a completely blank canvas, we created SPECTRA, a towering pavilion of light exploring the symbiotic relationship between light and landscape.
Inspired by Palm Springs’ breathtaking twilight, SPECTRA elevates festival goers’ perspective above miles of flat desert, taking them on a journey inside the sunset.
Surrounded by a haven of panoramic views, soaring emotions and refracted colour, guests ascend the spiral structure to an observation
Co-op Live, Manchester:‘ Citylink’ Walking Route
deck. Here, they can absorb the awe-inspiring location and experience the spirit of the festival in new ways.
SPECTRA embodies the essence of Coachella, and has now become a permanent feature of the festival. Sometimes blending with the sky, sometimes standing out vividly against it, the pavilion is an iconic beacon of light – representing the power of arts, illumination and perspective.
Company Address: Green Sand Foundry, 99 Water Lane, Leeds, LS11 5QN
Primary Contact Name: Paul Crick
Job Title: Global Head of Business Development
Contact Details: + 44 0845 257 9611 paul @ newsubstance. co. uk www. newsubstance. co. uk
Key Services / Specialism
• Design strategy
• Creative direction
• Narrative development
• Immersive & LBE design
• Production design
• Fabrication
• Live delivery
Sectors served:
• Live Events
• Immersive Experience
• Theme Parks
• Museums and heritage
• Hotels and resorts
• Touring and Pop Up
• City destinations
Capturing anticipation and intrigue with powerful public placemaking. Our blank canvas was the‘ Citylink’ walking route, which connects the arena with Piccadilly Station, Ancoats, New Islington and Holt Town. To bring it to life, we designed and installed a series of moments inspired by culture, excitement and community.
Through a careful blend of materials, audio soundscapes, lighting, colour and physicality, we elevated the route into a journey of intrigue and anticipation. As the sun sets, bioluminescent lights flicker in the walkways to create contrast, giving the route the freedom to evolve as day turns to night. Inspired by Manchester’ s iconic culture, our public art trail speaks to concert-goers, commuters and families alike. No matter their destination, the route engages every pedestrian in a vibrant creative journey.
Images: Top: SPECTRA at Coachella Festival. Image credit: Dom Idio Bottom: Co-op Live:‘ Citylink’ Walking Route. Image credit: Jack Bolton
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