It was with the Rotting Sounds Symposium on 23 and 24 September and the concert Einschreibung, Übertragung, Abtragung [Inscription, Transcription, Erosion] on the evening of 12 November in cooperation with Vienna’s contemporary music festival Wien Modern that we presented the Future Art Lab’s (FAL) Sound Theatre to the public with an audience present for the very first time.

At last: 7 June 2021 saw this brand new multifunctional building on the mdw Campus officially given over to its intended purpose in a festive open-air event.

It was quite soon following its completion last summer that the Future Art Lab was filled with life. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, meant that the grand opening of this new mdw Campus building would have to wait.

After 52 years, Film Academy Vienna is leaving this history-steeped building on Metternichgasse and moving to its new home in the Future Art Lab on the mdw Campus. Screenwriting and directing student Albert Meisl provides his own very personal look back at the history and spirit of this building.

How does the mdw’s new Future Art Lab sound? By what metaphors were Pichler & Traupmann guided during the design process? And how does one create the perfect symbiosis between visual and acoustic sensory qualities in such a building? A conversation with architects Christoph Pichler and Johannes Traupmann.

Rector Ulrike Sych and Vice Rector Johannes Meissl provide insights into the future of this new building from the Rectorate’s perspective, outlining the overall backstory, expectations, and possibilities.

The Future Art Lab on the University Campus offers a myriad of technical possibilities. Department heads tell us what they think of this new building—and how they’re doing with the big move that’s still underway.

Pauline Heister is the first woman to hold a professorship in Audio Engineering/Production at the mdw. She brings with her a rich body of professional experience in orchestral recording and opera broadcasting, and she now looks forward to cultivating intensified exchange between Tonmeisters and instrumentalists at the FAL.

Part of the FAL’s basement level is designed as a recording area where student Tonmeisters can practice on their instrument: the recording studio.