Architects: Giona Bierens de Haan, Leopold Banchini
Photography: Jeroen Verrecht, Eline Willaert, Angelina Nikolayeva, Illias Teirlinck, Lars Duchateau, Julien Janssens, Elias Derboven
Collaborator (DJ and Producer): DVS1
Materials: Rented sound equipment, recycled ceiling panels, standard timber sections
Client: Horst Arts & Music Festival
Location: Asiat Park, Mechelsesteenweg 255, 1800 Vilvoorde
Country: Belgium
Dark Skies is a large-scale sound installation designed by Giona Bierens de Haan and Leopold Banchini in collaboration with DJ and producer DVS1 for the Horst Arts & Music Festival in Vilvoorde, Belgium. Rather than a conventional pavilion, the project creates an immersive outdoor dance floor through 116 top speakers and 58 subwoofers suspended above the crowd. Spanning more than 1,000 square meters, the system brings sound sources within a few meters of participants, establishing a multidirectional acoustic environment without emphasizing the performer. Built by nonprofessional volunteers during a workshop, the installation uses rented sound equipment, recycled ceiling panels, and standard timber sections. Its lightweight overhead structure combines sound, smoke, and movement to create an intimate atmosphere, demonstrating how temporary architecture can shape collective experiences through acoustic design.
Dark Skies transforms the conventional relationship between performers and audiences by using sound as its primary architectural element. Designed for the Horst Arts & Music Festival at Asiat Park in Vilvoorde, Belgium, the installation replaces the traditional stage-focused arrangement with an overhead acoustic structure that defines space without walls.
Conceived by Giona Bierens de Haan and Leopold Banchini in collaboration with DVS1, the project suspends 116 top speakers and 58 subwoofers above the dance floor. This arrangement places every participant within a few meters of a sound source, creating a shared listening environment where no position is privileged over another.
Covering more than 1,000 square meters, the lightweight structure incorporates rented sound equipment, recycled ceiling panels, and standard timber sections. Assembled by nonprofessional volunteers during a workshop, it demonstrates an accessible approach to temporary construction.
Beneath the suspended system, sound, smoke, and moving bodies create a dense atmosphere despite the minimal physical framework. Dark Skies establishes a multidirectional dance floor that shifts attention away from the performer, presenting sound as a means of defining space and encouraging collective participation.
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Project Location
Address: Asiat Park, Mechelsesteenweg 255, 1800 Vilvoorde, Flemish Brabant, Belgium
The location specified is intended for general reference and may denote a city or country, but it does not identify a precise address.
