Founded in 1997, Lab_au joined up with theorist research LAB[a+u] to develop all forms of conceptualisation and realisation. In this way, LAB[au] creates a 'hyperdesign', investigating the implications of new communication and computation technologies within spatial-temporal structures as well as their forms of representation, such as architecture and urbanism.

In this interview, two of the members of Lab_au explain the situation of new Digital Media in its multidisciplinary quality and the real need for new terminologies for it, to make differences between all disciplines and methodologies within the digital field, Metadesign, Metaforce. They consider architecture to be one of the most interesting disciplines within the digital media, arguing that it can involve this new media on many different levels: structures, space and representation.

Interviewed by Raquel Herrera, contributor of Artnodes, at Sónar 2004.

Question: About The contents of Metadesign, what makes the differences between Metadesign, Design and Architecture? And also how does it affect in your approach to digital creations?                    
Answer (1‘58”)

Question: Some projects involve sound, space, music and interaction; do you think in this context all this mixed up disciplines might involve the point that space becomes more important than time?. And in your case, coming from architecture background, do you think now there is a stronger role of the space in art creations?       
Answer (2’13'')

Question: Truly there are many artists who are considering the importance of their creations throw the environment. What do you think about that?
Answer (0‘48”)

Question: We know in many software art creations, most of the considerations are based on the meaning of abstract code. Do you think there is parallelism between those considerations and architecture forms? Do you consider it as a formal expression?
Answer (1’40'')

Question: I was also thinking about the possible applications of your work and investigations, for example the installation you showed yesterday in Sónar04, in which you are working with the idea of interrelation between music and 3D structures. Can you imagine some other possible application involving new forms of space?
Answer (2‘36”)

Question: About this idea of virtual space. Do you consider when people talk about virtual space maybe they also mean virtual perception?
Answer (0‘46”)

Question: Could you tell us about the virtual experience you already presented? And also out of the debate of what virtual is and what is not virtual, when you focus on the experience, what kind of experience does it normally make?
Answer (2‘11”)


Related links
Lab_au official website