Creative Technologies Research Lab

In this video, Dr Oliver Bown discusses how the Creative Technologies Research Lab (CTRL) at UNSW, in collaboration with music studio Uncanny Valley, transformed the Sydney Opera House into a living musical instrument.

Commissioned in 2023, the project used real-time environmental data—tracking air, water, power and human movement—to generate an evolving composition. By integrating AI-driven generative audio and video techniques, the team reinterpreted the building’s mechanical rhythms and iconic 10,000-pipe grand organ into a dynamic symphony that played continuously over a month.

At CTRL, we explore the intersections of technology, the body and the environment. Through wearable design, biofeedback technologies and more-than-human perspectives, we investigate how interactive systems can sense, adapt and respond, blurring the boundaries between human, machine and ecosystem.

Led by Dr Patricia Flanagan, our wearables and speculative design research spans diverse creative practices, drawing from projects developed both within CTRL and in the broader trajectories of our researchers’ work. From garments that reflect physiological states to technologies that engage with non-human ecologies, we are shaping a future where technology is not just an external tool, but an integrated, responsive part of our lived experience.

At CTRL, we explore how emerging technologies transform the way we experience sound and light in space. From large-scale, immersive sound environments to interactive, site-specific compositions, our research examines how programmable, networked and responsive media reshape creative expression.

In this video, Dr Oliver Bown introduces a selection of our projects, showcasing innovations in spatial audio, responsive lighting and interactive media design. Through collaborations with artists, designers and technologists, we develop new tools and techniques that expand the possibilities of creative technology—making interactive sound and light experiences more flexible, expressive and integrated into the spaces around us.