manifesto
What if we understood spatial audio not as a technique, but as a way of thinking—about perception, composition, and the spaces we inhabit?#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
sound
is a dynamic and contextual phenomenon that emerges from the interactions between bodies, environments, and technologies. It actively shapes our experiences and perceptions, influencing how we engage with the spaces we inhabit.
-> read more
is a dynamic and contextual phenomenon that emerges from the interactions between bodies, environments, and technologies. It actively shapes our experiences and perceptions, influencing how we engage with the spaces we inhabit.
-> read more
space
is a vibrant and relational construct that evolves through our perceptions, movements, and interactions. It is continuously co-created through the interplay of sound, body, and environment, reflecting the dynamic nature of our experiences.
-> read more
is a vibrant and relational construct that evolves through our perceptions, movements, and interactions. It is continuously co-created through the interplay of sound, body, and environment, reflecting the dynamic nature of our experiences.
-> read more
aesthetics
is a vital practice that actively shapes perception and experience through sound and space. It arises from the rich engagement of the senses, cultural contexts, and creative intentions, guiding our processes of composition, listening, and inhabiting the world.
is a vital practice that actively shapes perception and experience through sound and space. It arises from the rich engagement of the senses, cultural contexts, and creative intentions, guiding our processes of composition, listening, and inhabiting the world.
spæs lab is a Berlin-based collective
that explores how sound shapes spaces and influences human experience. We collaborate with artists, designers, researchers, and engineers from diverse fields to explore innovative approaches to thinking about and working with sound as space.
spæs lab explores how space becomes meaningful through listening. In contrast to dominant approaches to “spatial audio,” where experience is shaped by technical parameters or pre-imposed conceptual frameworks, we begin with what actually happens to the senses. Our work attends to the emergence of spatial phenomena—tonal gestures, bodily responses, affective resonances, and symbolic associations—as they unfold in perception.
We approach sound not as something placed in space, but as a medium through which space itself is composed. Through scenographic practice, research, and public engagement, spæs lab investigates how listening constructs spatial meaning—inviting more attentive, interpretive, and situated approaches to immersive sound.
