The Sung Room

The Sung Room, Musica Divina, Abdij van Averbode, België

19 Sep 2026

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With The Sung Room we want to offer the public a moment for contemplation. When entering the space you are embraced by singing voices. The singing voices form a space within the visual space. Together with the surrounding ambient sounds, they create a complete composition.

The room is designed by visual artist Marc van Vliet and is detached from solid ground. It is swaying in the wind as if it breathes along with nature. It conveys a sense of vulnerability, yet also a playful lightness—a house that is not anchored but moves, adapting to its surroundings. We hope it evokes a playful desire to step inside and feel how the body moves with the wind.

"Although it is a non-religious piece the vocal music creates a space to reflect and to connect to both your inner world and the surrounding world around you."

The wooden panels and the reflective amber panel generate the sounds. Visitors will discover that each panel emits a single singing voice. This means they are not merely listening to a piece of music—they are positioned within it. The voices are performed by soprano Michaela Riener (AUS) and countertenor Arturo den Hartog (NL), libretto by Jacob Polley (UK) and Jorge Guillén (ESP).

Michaela Riener soprano
Arturo den Hartog (NL) countertenor
Jake Polley (UK) poet & writer

"The voices frame the world around you, setting up a dialogue between you and your living environment. The structure is partly open and partly enclosed. The experience of being inside is not static—quite the opposite. On each side, you can encounter different perspectives and voices embedded within the space."

The Sung Room is part of a research project in which we design resonant panels as an alternative to traditional speakers. These panels define both an auditory and a visual space, allowing us to create an architecture of both image and sound. Additionally, The Sung Room maps the environment through sound, incorporating previously (night-time) recorded sounds that emerge naturally from the surrounding landscape. This way we explore the proximities within our living environment— the relationships between different experiential spaces, from our inner world to intimate space, social space, and public space.

The Festival MUSICA DIVINA is a celebration of classical music that aims to charm a wide audience, from complete newcomers to dyed-in-the-wool music fanatics, with live classical music of a high quality and the focus on vocal and religious music or heavenly music in abbeys and beguinages. The Festival is both held in the province of Antwerp as in the wider region of the Kempen.