The Aubette in Strasbourg was well known as a Gesamtkunstwerk. The building, which dates from the eighteenth century, was redeveloped in the 1920s by Theo van Doesburg, Hans Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp. This reorganization was one of the important works of De Stijl, and references are made to this monument of modernism in numerous publications.

The Aubette was built as an entertainment complex where the public could play billiards, eat, drink, dance, and see films. One of the special aspects of the interior of the Aubette was the use of color as an architectural element in addition to form. “Without color, architecture lacks expression and is blind” (Van Doesburg in De Stijl, 1928).

LAb[au]'s kinetic light installation entitled framework f5x5x3 establishes many relations to the surrounding architecture. It's programmed motion directly refers to Van Doesbourg's 'light programmer' conceived for the building, allowing a dynamic illumination of the architecture, as it relates to Arp's random composition of the tinted glass facade of the staircase; one of the first works using randomness. The 5X5 resolution of the artwork takes over Theo van Doesbourgs typeface designed for the project; as such, the artwork becomes a dynamic element of the Gesamtkunstwerk where space, time, and color merge.