listen to the universe
Tuinstraat / Spoorweglaan, Kortrijk, Belgium
2026
LAb[au], Manuel Abendroth, Jérôme Decock
steel strucutre, aluminium structure, inox mesh, rf receiver, LED strips, electronics
![Sky map interface for Listen to the Universe by LAb[au] in Kortrijk, showing labelled constellations, plotted trajectories and numerical data on a black background.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fb1d51_2cafd7fa5430449d8d6f4aa87454e9fc~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_480,h_400,q_90,enc_avif,quality_auto/fb1d51_2cafd7fa5430449d8d6f4aa87454e9fc~mv2.jpg)
![Signal spectrum for Listen to the Universe by LAb[au] in Kortrijk, showing a white curve and vertical peaks on a black graph.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fb1d51_87ca89ee83bf4ebc9e02c45d97410f71~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_480,h_400,q_90,enc_avif,quality_auto/fb1d51_87ca89ee83bf4ebc9e02c45d97410f71~mv2.jpg)
![Monitoring screen displaying a fluctuating signal graph among cables and electronic components for Listen to the Universe by LAb[au].](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fb1d51_033df0aba78f427883727871dda8cae4~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_480,h_400,q_90,enc_avif,quality_auto/fb1d51_033df0aba78f427883727871dda8cae4~mv2.jpg)
![Parabolic antenna and illuminated text display atop the brick RTT tower in Kortrijk, part of Listen to the Universe by LAb[au], against a clear blue sky.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fb1d51_f50eda4fddb14855b3340679dcdee3e0~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_480,h_400,q_90,enc_avif,quality_auto/fb1d51_f50eda4fddb14855b3340679dcdee3e0~mv2.jpg)
abstract
A landmark antenna atop a former telecom tower transcodes cosmic background radiation into words scrolling across surrounding displays, inviting citizens to look toward the stars and let their imagination wander.
credits
Commissioned by Promiris
Architecture: awg architecten
General contractor: Wyckaert
In cooperation with Proximus
With the approval of stadkortrijk
Antenna design and realistaion: LAb[au]
Software and spectral analyis: LAb[au]
![Listen to the Universe by LAb[au] atop the brick RTT tower in Kortrijk, with the medieval belfry visible to the left beneath a blue sky.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fb1d51_60d15a3a503445cc89fe8aac96456ce0~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_480,h_400,q_90,enc_avif,quality_auto/fb1d51_60d15a3a503445cc89fe8aac96456ce0~mv2.jpg)
![View of the former RTT building in Kortrijk, with rows of windows and the parabolic antenna of Listen to the Universe by LAb[au] above its tower.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fb1d51_4972be20504a4cc0890e9663e34191a9~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_480,h_400,q_90,enc_avif,quality_auto/fb1d51_4972be20504a4cc0890e9663e34191a9~mv2.jpg)
![Listen to the Universe by LAb[au] on the RTT tower in Kortrijk, seen beyond a bridge with metal railings and a shaded passage below.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fb1d51_f38c86cf72614f7eb3da4ca061fbca69~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_480,h_400,q_90,enc_avif,quality_auto/fb1d51_f38c86cf72614f7eb3da4ca061fbca69~mv2.jpg)
![View beside a bridge in Kortrijk, with metal railings in the foreground and the antenna of Listen to the Universe by LAb[au] above the RTT building.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fb1d51_35119975c79347b79bea844a13a0261c~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_480,h_400,q_90,enc_avif,quality_auto/fb1d51_35119975c79347b79bea844a13a0261c~mv2.jpg)
![Two views of Listen to the Universe by LAb[au] in Kortrijk: the antenna above the RTT tower and a street view with neighbouring façades.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fb1d51_4e176be18efa474bbfb9dffc4a712978~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_480,h_400,q_90,enc_avif,quality_auto/fb1d51_4e176be18efa474bbfb9dffc4a712978~mv2.jpg)
![Upward view of the parabolic antenna and metal support of Listen to the Universe by LAb[au] above the RTT tower in Kortrijk against a blue sky.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fb1d51_7faa4857da8b43b09f75721310b60ec9~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_480,h_400,q_90,enc_avif,quality_auto/fb1d51_7faa4857da8b43b09f75721310b60ec9~mv2.jpg)
![Detail beneath the antenna of Listen to the Universe by LAb[au] in Kortrijk, showing radial metal ribs, steel supports and cables against a cloudy sky.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fb1d51_42f3f0b0304e498cbccf97a20f15fb29~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_480,h_400,q_90,enc_avif,quality_auto/fb1d51_42f3f0b0304e498cbccf97a20f15fb29~mv2.jpg)
![Upward view of the antenna of Listen to the Universe by LAb[au] in Kortrijk, with a tall grey equipment enclosure in front of its circular metal framework.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fb1d51_a4eb854854f7472cb3558b7bc0498c33~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_480,h_400,q_90,enc_avif,quality_auto/fb1d51_a4eb854854f7472cb3558b7bc0498c33~mv2.jpg)
text
As part of the transformation of Kortrijk’s former RTT telecommunications building, constructed in 1947, into student housing, LAb[au] designed and built a giant parabolic antenna that now crowns the tower.
Oriented towards the sky, it captures cosmic background radiation—the oldest light we can observe: a signal originating in the early universe that still permeates space today. The received signal is transcoded into an ever-evolving stream of letters and words scrolling across the façades of surrounding buildings.
The work recalls how investigations into radio and television noise revealed signals coming from beyond Earth, opening an entirely new field of observation: radio astronomy. Later, this unexplained noise led to the discovery of cosmic background radiation; noise became a source of knowledge. LAb[au]’s antenna builds on this discovery, transforming the former telecommunications tower into an observatory of deep space. The building becomes a landmark of the very horizon that telecommunications helped reveal.
history
2018 --- LAb[au] wins the competition among three shortlisted artist teams
2020 --- After two years of material testing, the initial project proposal was
rejected by Proximus because the proposed materials lacked RF transparency
2022 --- Project approved by Promiris, awg architecten and Proximus
for an antenna capturing cosmic background radiation
2024 --- September, final approval by the city administration
2025 --- Building permit application process
2026 --- February, installation of the metal structure
2026 --- August, installation of the antenna
26.09.2026 --- Inauguration of the public artwork, phase 1
We are currently working on:
improving the algorithm that transcodes noise into words
refining the filtering to distinguish cosmic background radiation from other sources of noise
recording and storing the data for scientific purposes
using the recorded data to map our journey through space and time
Visible in relation to Kortrijk’s mediaeval belfry, the antenna extends this symbolically: from bells communicating time and civic events locally, through telegraphy and telephony connecting the world globally, towards receiving signals beyond space.
Pointing directly upwards, the antenna defines a vector into space as the Earth rotates. This scanline provides the basis for a map of deep space connecting the transcoded words to their celestial coordinates. The voyage unfolds on the displays. The invitation “listen to the universe” takes on changing forms—“listen to the Milky Way”, “listen to the sun”, or the names of stars and galaxies—identifying the celestial context in real time before each transcoded message appears.
The first message read: “listen to deep space: lobo yeah feel, see”.
Between signal and noise, sense and non-sense, a poetry of, and a journey through, the universe emerges. As such the antenna orients our view towards the sky, while the flow of words carries us into space and time—into the infinite dimensions of imagination.