Spatial sound, often referred to as spatial audio, describes how sound is distributed, localized, and experienced within a space.
WHAT IS SPATIAL SOUND
Spatial sound, often referred to as spatial audio, describes how sound is distributed, localized, and experienced within a space.
It extends beyond stereo or surround formats and includes multichannel sound systems, loudspeaker placement, and the relationship between sound and architecture. Instead of a fixed output, spatial sound operates as a system that responds to materials, geometry, and listener position.
This shifts sound from a medium to an environment. It becomes something people move through, not something they simply hear.
SPATIAL SOUND AS SPATIAL LOGIC
Spatial sound defines how a space unfolds over time.
Through multichannel composition, loudspeaker placement, and carefully tuned acoustic zones, sound can mark transitions between areas, connect separate zones, or create focus within open environments. It introduces rhythm into architecture and structures how visitors move, pause, and engage.
Sound can guide without instruction. It can create thresholds, signal proximity, or extend the perceived scale of a space. In this way, spatial audio becomes part of the spatial logic itself.
APPLICATIONS OF SPATIAL AUDIO
Spatial sound is applied across different contexts, each with its own spatial and narrative requirements.
Exhibitions and museums
Spatial audio connects exhibits into a coherent experience. It supports orientation, reinforces content, and structures visitor routes through acoustic transitions and localized sound.
Architecture and public space
Sound defines atmosphere and scale. It can create intimacy within large environments or articulate zones within open spatial layouts.
Installations and media environments
Sound becomes an active component of the work. It evolves over time, reacts to presence, or forms a spatial composition that visitors experience from within.
FROM SPATIAL SOUND TO SOUND SCENOGRAPHY
Spatial sound forms the technical and perceptual foundation of what we describe as sound scenography.
While spatial sound focuses on how sound behaves in space, sound scenography extends this into a compositional and dramaturgical practice. It connects spatial audio with narrative structure, timing, interaction, and the emotional arc of a visitor journey.
Learn more about sound scenography.
SELECTED PROJECTS
Examples of spatial sound in our work include:
Haus der Geschichte, Bonn
A multichannel sound environment connects over sixty exhibits into a coherent spatial system, balancing clarity, atmosphere, and accessibility.
Luxembourg Pavilion, Expo 2025
Three distinct spatial audio environments define different modes of experience, from composed spaces to interactive sound fields.
Forschungswand, Humboldt Forum Berlin
Sound structures overlapping narratives within a kinetic installation, supporting spatial orientation and thematic navigation.
HOW WE WORK
Spatial sound requires a close integration of concept, composition, and technical design.
We develop spatial audio systems in relation to architecture, content, and visitor movement. This includes multichannel setups, loudspeaker strategies, acoustic zoning, and adaptive or interactive behaviors where required.
The result is a spatial structure that unfolds over time and responds to the conditions of the space.
