Ludwig Berger
Sonic Investigations: Ecotonalities
Field Recordings, 22 Speakers, 4 Bass Shakers 3 LED Screens, Curved Wall and Bench

An audio piece commissioned for the Luxembourg Pavilion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture 2025.

“Ecotonalities: No Other Home Than The In-Between” weaves together field recordings from distinctive locations across Luxembourg, where sustainable and digital transformations are reshaping the landscape—energy production sites, data centers, satellite parks, and the forests, meadows, and artificial lakes surrounding them.

The piece is guided by the concept of the ecotone—a transitional zone between two ecosystems, interpreted in this work as the meeting points of human infrastructure and living environments, where forms of coexistence and friction arise. The recordings were made using a range of microphones, including vibrational, underwater, electromagnetic, and ultrasonic sensors, allowing for a multi-perspective perception of the environment.

Structured along the rhythm of a day and played back over 22 loudspeakers and 4 bass shakers mounted on the ceiling, walls and bench surfaces, the composition creates a dense, physical sound environment that can be experienced from multiple positions in the space—through stillness, movement, and proximity.

Presented as the central installation of the pavilion, the work forms part of the exhibition Sonic Investigations, which invites a shift of attention from the visual to the sonic in architecture.

Curators: Valentin Bansac, Mike Fritsch, Alice Loumeau, with Ludwig Berger and Peter Szendy 

Photos by Valentin Bansac

Recording sites:
Artificial Lake, Remerschen 
Enovos Floating Solar Plant, Differdange 
Industrial Rail Yard, Differdange 
Hydroelectric Dam, Esch-sur-Sûre 
Power Station, Esch-sur-Sûre 
Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Plant, Vianden 
High-Voltage Outdoor Switching Station, Vianden 
Wind Farm, Pafebierg 
Satellite Park, Betzdorf 
Natural Reserve, Aarnescht 
Data Center Luxconnect DC2, Bissen
Data Center DEEP Resilience Center South, Kayl
Data Center DEEP Resilience Center West, Windhof
Forest “Quiet Zone”, Grünewald 

Recording equipment:
Omnidirectional and cardioid microphones 
Parabolic microphone 
Cardioid and parabolic microphones 
Wildlife audio recorder 
Hydrophones 
Geophone and contact microphones 
Electromagnetic sensors 
Laser Doppler vibrometer 
Software-defined radio 

Installation photos by Melania Dalle Grave

The piece has been commissioned for the Luxembourg Pavilion “SONIC INVESTIGATIONS” at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia.

Curators: Valentin Bansac, Mike Fritsch, Alice Loumeau, with Ludwig Berger and Peter Szendy 

Exhibitors: Valentin Bansac, Ludwig Berger, Anthea Caddy, Mike Fritsch, Alice Loumeau, Peter Szendy

Commissioners: Kultur | lx — Arts Council Luxembourg and LUCA — Luxembourg Center for Architecture,  on behalf of the Luxembourg Ministry of Culture 

Acknowledgements: Enovos, LuxConnect, Luxembourg Embassy in Rome, Musée national d’histoire naturelle (Luxembourg), Nature and Forest Agency (ANF), Pauline Oliveros Trust and Daniel Weintraub , POLYTEC, SEO, SES (Société Européenne des Satellites), Radioamateurs du Luxembourg, University of Luxembourg(Regenerative Social-Ecological Systems, Geography and Spatial Planning)

With the kind support of: Centre national de l’audiovisuel (CNA), Luxembourg 

Book: Ecotones. Investigating Sounds and Territories

The book extends the investigations on the relevance of sound in territorial studies outside the context of Luxembourg. Developed as an autonomous book, it offers a curated collection of texts from various disciplines that examine spaces, territories and ecologies through sonic ventures. Much like the sound piece, the book fosters newcultural frameworks and theoretical tools for spatial practitioners.

Editor: Valentin Bansac, Mike Fritsch, Alice Loumeau, Peter Szendy

Designer: Pierre Vanni

Contributors: Ludwig Berger, Laure Brayer, Madelynne Cornish & Philip Samartzis, Julia Grillmayr, Christina Gruber & Sophia Rut, David George Haskell, Tim Ingold, Shannon Mattern, Emma McCormick Goodhart, Xabi Molia, Soline Nivet & Ariane Wilson, Nadine Schütz, Cole Swensen, Peter Szendy, Yuri Tuma (Institute for Postnatural Studies), Laura Vazquez

Spector Books 2025