The Quarry: Architecture in the Mode of Being

As the sun goes down and lights begin to flicker on, welcoming the night ahead, Wonderers slowly make their way towards the heart of The Fields. No plans are made, yet somehow we all know where to go. Hidden among the trees is a dark hollow, a world of its own that comes alive just as the rest of the world falls asleep.

This is The Quarry, a stage known for underground electronic music, where adventurous artists and DJs explore new directions, bringing intriguing sounds to discover throughout the night. In its early years, The Quarry sat at the edge of the forest, away from the main festival grounds, with a walk through the trees leading to this mysterious territory. After half a decade, it moved to the heart of the Upper Fields, becoming a counterpoint to Wonderness in the Lower Fields. True to its underground spirit, it also descended into a deep hollow, creating an immersive world beneath the surface.

Here, the exploration goes beyond electronic music that challenges genres and boundaries. Light and visuals open the senses further, heightening the experience until it feels as though you have been drawn through a wormhole into another dimension. Behind this otherworldly environment is Jiro Endo, a Japanese lighting artist and architect deeply embedded in Thailand’s independent music scene. Known for designing lighting across numerous events, Jiro has also shaped the Forest Stage and the spatial experience of The Quarry at Wonderfruit for many years, creating work that responds intuitively to landscape and nature.

Beyond the physical experience and immersive sound reaching 120 decibels that envelops the stage, Jiro reflects on how our changing relationship with technology has gradually pulled us away from the present moment and from connecting with the world around us. This year, he takes on the role of Lighting Jockey, reflecting the idea of making every moment a connection between people, their surroundings, and everything unfolding in the here and now, while presenting a live light performance at The Quarry for the first time in 10 years. Beams of light will move through the air, serving as a medium for sensations that surround the body. They will be joined by 3 visual jockeys: Japanese artists Naohiro Ukawa (Dommune) and Hiraki Sawa, alongside Thailand’s Autosave. Together, this trio will work across three layers of light and visual expression, utilizing split-screen visuals to shift how the space is experienced throughout each performance.

Importantly, none of these elements will follow the rhythm of the music. Instead, the artists will approach the performance as a cross-disciplinary jam session, where light, visuals, and sound react to one another to let unexpected moments emerge. In addition, lights falling from above will create the feeling of being inside a cave, deepening the sense of mystery. For those looking to rest, gather with friends, get lost in their thoughts, or simply listen from a distance, this year’s Quarry offers spaces to unwind while remaining immersed in the atmosphere. Audiophiles can enjoy a deep listening environment, with The Halo Bar close by for drinks.

Before you step into this mysterious night, where light, visuals and music converge underground into something almost cosmic, Jiro takes us behind the scenes of The Quarry this year, sharing the ideas shaping this subterranean world.

Architecture in the Mode of Being: An Improvisational Spatial Manifesto
Based on the original text by Jiro Endo

Psychoanalyst Erich Fromm provided a vital framework for the modern world by distinguishing between the modes of “Having” and “Being” to explain the alienation of contemporary society. I adopt this perspective, not out of nostalgia, but as a critical lens to examine how we construct and experience space in an era dominated by relentless digitization and algorithmic saturation.

What defines contemporary space is no longer limited to physical buildings and permanent structures. Instead, space is increasingly measured, quantified, and assetized, reduced to a pre-programmed and predictable commodity consumed daily through interfaces. This mirrors the societal mode of “Having,” where we risk being reduced to passive endpoints merely receiving predetermined information.

Yet, as we immerse ourselves within the darkness of a bowl-shaped valley deep in the forest, we recognize that the true essence of space is not found in the containment of matter or information, but in the living relationships that emerge within it. Architecture is not a commodity to own or a product to consume; it is an experience of “Being,” continuously generated by the coming together of the environment, sound, light, and everyone sharing the moment.

Our approach to The Quarry rejects the notion of a master architect controlling the environment from above. Instead, our collective unifies practitioners across diverse disciplines, bringing together a disc jockey, 3 visual jockeys, 3 lighting directors, a laser operator, and 2 sound engineers. Operating entirely free from external direction, we anchor our creative sovereignty within the collective, allowing the live experience to unfold through raw instinct and a profound, shared trust.

In an age of increasingly advanced technology, we must move beyond the sameness created by algorithms and our growing dependence on them. Instead, we engage machines as direct extensions of our senses, awakening a profoundly human responsiveness that is spontaneous and impossible to replicate. The sounds played by the DJs, the beams of light cutting through the darkness, and the vibrations moving through the atmosphere do not simply follow a predetermined program. Rather, they continually activate one another through subtle shifts in interpretation, intentional contrasts, and instinctive responses to the energy of the moment.

As Fromm observed in The Art of Living, genuine connection does not mean losing yourself in another person. It requires coming together while preserving your own individuality. The order that emerges within this space of improvisation is neither a perfect pattern nor complete chaos. It is a harmony that comes into being in the moment—resembling a “quasicrystal” where elements connect freely without repeating the same pattern. Like love, it is a space where freedom and self-discipline can coexist.

The crowd gathered on the floor is by no means a passive audience consuming a carefully engineered spectacle. They are part of creating the space itself: reflecting light, radiating heat, and absorbing sound through their bodies. Those dancing in ecstasy and those seeking a quiet sanctuary beneath the forest canopy are equally important to the physical and emotional reality of this place, with each still free to move through it in their own way.

Even when the festival ends and darkness and silence return to the forest, the memory of this living, energetic relationship does not disappear. It settles into an enduring trace, held deep within the bodies of those who were there, something that cannot be turned into a product or reduced to a symbol. It exists as a space of interaction, where human beings connect with the world through the fullness of their existence. This is architecture in its deepest sense.

Come experience a space where architecture, light, sound, nature and community blend as one at The Quarry. Featuring visual spectacles ready to challenge the boundaries of electronic music, the event boasts a lineup of artists and DJs to discover, including DJ Masda, DJ Python, Jako Jako, Jane Fitz, Jesse You, Lydo, Nicolas Lutz, Orphx, Sweely and many more. Our venue residents this year, Justfin and Chalo, will also return with their fierce live sets.