We see the advancement of immersive media and artificial environments as an ongoing challenge—one that extends beyond creating and designing content. It also involves developing the tools, technologies, and methods that shape the interrelation between sound and space.

founding partners

The journey of spæs lab began when we first met at the international conference Sounding Out the Space in Dublin, where we discovered our shared fascination with the spatial aesthetics in sound. Inspired by the event’s focus on the spatiality of sound, we envisioned an independent lab that would explore the myriad ways in which sound shapes space. Determined to move beyond the constraints of academic and commercial frameworks, we founded spæs lab to foster interdisciplinary collaboration. Combining our backgrounds in sound art, research, and scenographic design, we created a space where artistic, scientific, and technological perspectives merge, advancing the auditory qualities of immersive media and artificial environments.

We believe that spatial aesthetics is an everyday practice—an ongoing act of world-making. Whenever we compose or arrange sounds, we shape how people experience their surroundings. Sound becomes more than something we hear; it becomes a raw material, a building block for how we perceive and understand the world.

In this practice, the loudspeaker holds a unique place. It is both a tool and an instrument—a way to place sound within space, to give it direction, shape, and texture. Through this, we explore how sound moves, how it interacts with surfaces and volumes, and how it colors the air around us.

For over 20 years, our collective has been driven by curiosity and a commitment to collaboration. We bring together voices from the arts, architecture, music, design, XR, and more, creating a space where ideas flow freely and disciplines merge. This convergence enables us to cultivate critical reflection and deepen our understanding of how sound, space, and human experience intersect.

Our work exists at the intersection of science, practice, and academia. This dynamic exchange of ideas and skills fuels our ongoing exploration of spatial aesthetics. We are committed to pushing the boundaries of how sound and space coexist, inviting new practices and perspectives to emerge.

manifesto

Our manifesto reflects our commitment to challenging established practices and promoting a deeper understanding of spatial aesthetics in sound.

#01

Throughout the past century, the awareness of space has affected all kinds of disciplines.

#02

With the introduction of spatial audio technologies, the production of sonic spaces has become a growing field of interest for many creatives including composers and sound designers—and for diverse audiences.

#03

Still, the vast majority of research and creative practice aims to refine technologies and methods to (re-)create a naturalistic auditory experience — paying little attention to the question of how we experience space in its various dimensions, including the phenomenological, the social, and the emotional space.

#04

Similarly, creatives limit themselves by formulating and realizing their ideas sourced from technology-enabled effects.

#05

For now, it seems that we have entered a phase of vast, loud, colorful and impressive sound images, compositions, effects — overwhelming and highly sensational, but often restricted by a limited focus on a software-hardware-in-use-debate.

#06

Are we just throwing around sounds? (Jonty Harrison, 1999)

#07

Despite that many recent spatialized musical works treat the space as an after-thought applied only after the piece is done composing, many composers working in the field of spatialized music are convinced that an understanding of the function of spatial characteristics is a crucial prerequisite to the work.

#08

Ultimately, spatial audio technologies are just the tools to translate ideas into concrete listening experiences—a too often forgotten fact—but spatial sound is rarely discussed, evaluated, and reflected with all the multifaceted dimensions of space.

#09

We don’t know enough. For example, there is little shared agreement on the understanding of the basic terms such as sound or space, of its multiple relationships, and of the implications to applying this knowledge to the various fields including art, music, design, theatre, film, architecture, scenography, etc.

#10

Being aware of the structural limitations of academic and commercial institutions, we are establishing an independent lab dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of the spatial aesthetics in sound.

key concepts