Photo: Courtesy of Evan Collier
How he got his start: Collier's interest in the events world goes back to his teenage years. He has been attending raves and electronic music events since he was 14 years old, and DJ-ed house parties and other events when he was in high school. As a young adult, he worked as a sound engineer at Green House Studios (owned by the Leavens Brothers) in Vancouver, where he honed his skills in music production.
At age 21, Collier moved to New York and began working in the lighting and sound industries. He also gained experience as an audio engineer, artist, and manager to a performance artist, which introduced him to The Box, a cocktail bar and performance space in New York. Collier quickly began fabricating props and set pieces for various acts, and eventually began hosting his own theme night at the venue.
In 2009 Collier was asked to build a life-sized Roman archway for a photo set at Pier 59 Studios—which eventually became the inspiration for ARCH Production & Design, which he officially launched in 2010.
Collier quickly began designing, building, and managing projects for off-Broadway shows and concerts, along with underground art and electronic music events where he'd fabricate stages, DJ booths, and immersive installations.
"We have been growing ever since," he says. "What started out as a four-person team in a 1,000-square-foot space in 2010 has blossomed into a multi-city, 30-person team in over 25,000 square feet in 2022." 
ARCH engineered, built, and installed a custom stage for the DMX memorial, held in 2021 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. All surfaces of the custom-welded, trapezoid-shaped stage and its rigged mirror-image canopy were wrapped in stretched fabric that allowed projection mapping on all sides.Photo: Courtesy of ARCH Design & Production
What sets his company apart: Other than quality and customer service, Collier says ARCH has become known for "doing the impossible in a short amount of time," he says, adding that he's working to create the most sustainable custom design and fabrication company in the country.
"I think our clients really love working with us because we are not just fabricators, but a team of really innovative craftspeople, designers, fabricators, and producers," he says. "We offer one-stop shopping with our 'Render to Reality' or 'Concept to Creation' in-house production line."
What innovation means for him: To Collier, it's about pushing the boundary of what's possible with materials. "We regularly innovate by designing projects that use upcycled materials, and recycling materials from one project into another," he says. "This helps with internal overhead and cost, as well as meets our goals and aspirations for sustainability."
Collier's team also innovates by working with 3D modeling and digital fabrication. "Almost all of our projects use one CNC [computer numerical control] process or another. We take our 3D models and extrapolate them into parts we can mill for assembly using a CNC router, CNC plasma or laser, seven-axis robotic carving arms, CNC water jet, or 3D printing," he explains. "While we have been including LEDs and sound into our creations for years, innovation for us is also the incorporation of a multitude of physical computing peripherals. We are increasingly incorporating components such as servo motors, linear actuators, rotary encoders, beam sensors, spacial scanning, biofeedback devices, and much more."
He adds, "We have some really talented programmers and engineers we work with to bring our fabrications to life and create world-class interactive displays and attractions." 
The ARCH team designed the "Fire Stage" at the 2021 Elements Festival. The 8-foot-wide by 10-foot-tall by 3-foot-deep fire head was sculpted out of scrap metal mesh and hand-rolled carbon steel tubing, and all facades were hand-painted by an in-house scenic team. "This was a totally larger-than-life project and came out really nice," says Collier. Click here to watch a video of the process.Photo: Courtesy of ARCH Design & Production
Career highlights: Collier recalls two recent highlights, including a stage for the 2021 Elements Festival. "We partnered with Incendia out of Atlanta to do all the fire effects, and our team headed up the stage design, fabrication, and scenic work," he says, adding: "We also installed this four-story stage during the middle of Hurricane Ida storm and flooding."
Collier—who attended his first Burning Man as a teenager—also worked on a build for the most recent Burning Man festival called "Harvey Disco Kitty," a 13,000-pound steel jaguar art car. "With the support of ARCH’s fabrication shop and tools, and a team of over 40 volunteers, we visualized, designed, and fabricated this quarter-million-dollar-value art car for less than $30,000 in under five months," he says. "We also developed the Harvey Disco Kitty iconography and brand and are getting really positive feedback and interest. The car is booked now in at least three events this fall in New York and Miami, and already has two festivals on the calendar for 2023."
He adds, "We are excited to continue to share this incredible piece of larger-than-life artwork with the world for years to come!" 
For Rooftop Cinema Club in Miami, ARCH designed and created four painted murals, a collage made entirely of iconic films, and an oversized floral arrangement consisting of faux tropical flowers.Photo: Courtesy of ARCH Design & Production
His favorite thing about working events: Collier describes his relationship with events as one of "love-hate." "On one hand, our team really struggles with the disposable and impermanent nature of working in events. They continue to be the most wasteful and harmful industry in which our company works," he says. "We are doing everything in our power to change this and influence the event designers and producers to take a more sustainable approach to holding events."
On the other hand, Collier finds it incredibly rewarding to take an idea and turn it into reality in a short period of time. "The best part of it all is seeing the awe and wonder on the faces of the event attendees when they get to experience one of our artworks or immersive environments," he says. "The joy, happiness, and inspiration that our contribution to the event industry brings ends up making it worthwhile."
Back to the full list: Industry Innovators 2022: 13 Standout Event Vendors to Know About
