“habitat” is an interactive installation that explores the interplay of human presence, space, and sound. At its center is a glowing pedestal that initially appears passive but reveals its own agency through interaction. Originally developed for the foyer of Saalbau Witten, where it revitalized an overlooked passageway, the work now finds a new resonant space at the Next Level Festival. Touch, proximity, or movement activate the pedestal, which then generates real-time soundscapes and light patterns. Visitors thus become co-creators of an acoustic environment that constantly changes and is shared. “habitat” demonstrates how sound can be used as a means of spatial design and opens up new forms of listening and perception. It invites us to not just pass through architectural and social spaces, but to experience them as a living, evolving composition.
habitat was developed by musicians and this year’s No End To The Road Fellows Rhys Connolly and Lukas Schäfer, and realized in collaboration with Philippe Waldecker (design and construction of the platform) and Joscha Denzel (project management and artistic development, Saalbau Witten). The project is funded by Kultursekretariat Gütersloh as part of the #ARTinprogress funding program and by the Karin und Uwe Hollweg Foundation.