The 17th century Chateau du Fey looks out over the rolling hills of Bourgogne, just outside the town of Joigny, France. In winter and early spring, the chateau is home to Feytopia, a growing collective of artists, scholars and inventors whose unrelenting energy and ricocheting creativity is palpable from the moment you pass Fey’s cast iron gates.

Chateau du Fey’s grounds are extensive and beautifully kept; a labyrinthine collection of farmhouses, stables and gardens. Since Feytopia’s inception, the chateau has hosted a yearly Fey Arts Festival every September, and for this year’s instalment we were asked to build a kugelauditorium as a creative lab for invited artists to work in/ with, KA8.

The size of KA8 was going to be the same as KA6, appr. 7m diameter, but full spherical this time round, with a better netting system and crucially fully weather proof, so KA8 could be a semi-permanent resident of the chateau.

After the near implosion disaster of KA6, we thought it was probably wise to get a bona fide structural engineer on board, and we found the (probably) best one there is on this planet in Nicholas Christie. In large part due to Nicholas’s input, the entire operation felt altogether much more professional than KA6, and it felt very little was left to chance. The many zoom calls and group chats led to a very tight integration between structure and sound rig; we knew the strut diameter required for maximum strength and stability, we spec’d the speakers to seamlessly fit onto the structure and Nicholas even produced an insanely detailed blow by blow set up guide for the entire thing.