Ray Winkler is a UK-registered architect. He is the CEO and Design Director at STUFISH Entertainment Architects. He began his design career as a carpenter and craftsman. He earned his Master of Architecture from University College London becoming interested in stage design and mobile architecture during his postgraduate studies at SCI-Arc in Los Angeles California. Ray has always been drawn to the unique, ephemeral and transformative nature of entertainment architecture.
Ray has devoted more than twenty-five years to designing live touring shows, theatrical projects and spectacular one-off productions such as the London 2012 Handover at the Beijing 2008 Olympics Closing Ceremony, as well as live TV shows for MTV, VH1 and other TV channels in the USA and the UK. He has collaborated with renowned artists such as U2, Beyoncé, Dave, the Rolling Stones, Benson Boone, BlackPink, Robbie Williams, and Cirque du Soleil to name a few. He has also worked extensively in Japan with artists such as Mr Children, Ai, Yumi Matsutoya, Bz, Universal Studios Japan, Himuro, Arashi and Naniwa Danshi.
Ray’s high-profile projects include; Adele in Munich, which set a Guinness World Record for the world’s largest LED screen and won the 2025 TPi Award for Outstanding Production, alongside major international productions such as F1 75 Live at The O2, the Formula 1 Heineken Silver Grand Prix Opening Ceremony, the Global Citizen Festivals, including Amazônia, one of the most sustainable and lowest-impact large-scale events ever staged in South America, the UEFA Opening Ceremonies, the NFL Europe Halftime Shows, and the 2025 NFL Trophy Ceremony. His extensive touring and live event credits also include Adele’s ‘Weekends with Adele’ residency at The Colosseum in Las Vegas, Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, AC/DC’s PWR tour, Take That’s This Life tour, Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour, One Direction’s 2014 world tour, Lenny Kravitz tour, Nicolas Tse Live, Andy Lau’s world tour, Dragon Quest Live, and The Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds tour.
One of his most high-profile and innovative projects was the ABBA Arena, which hosts the groundbreaking ABBA Voyage show featuring digital avatars alongside a live band. This state-of-the-art, demountable arena with a capacity of 3,000 opened in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London in May 2022. It offers a unique experience where physical and digital realms seamlessly merge.
Ray’s exceptional artistic ability and creative flair, coupled with his strong leadership skills, ensure that every project is delivered to the highest standards. In January 2023, he was appointed William Henry Bishop Visiting Professor at the Yale School of Architecture, where he led the ‘Advanced Design Studio: The Future of Entertainment”.
Through STUFISH’s permanent entertainment venues in China, the new ABBA Arena in London, and numerous live shows, Ray continues to explore the multifaceted world of entertainment architecture.