ENLIVENED WITH LIGHT AND HUMOUR

A 114-metre-long pedestrian tunnel that is only 2.35 metres high in places can feel a bit scary. But thanks to good planning, new lighting and a touch of humour the underpass under the tracks of the Bochum railway museum has been transformed into an attractive connecting passage that pedestrians and cyclists enjoy using.

The Bochum district of Dahlhausen is situated in the Ruhr valley and is separated from the river by railway tracks which also bring visitors to the popular Bochum railway museum. There is a tunnel for pedestrians under the tracks of the former railway depot that is now a museum. It connects Dahlhausen and Bochum city centre with the meadows and cycle paths along the Ruhr. The tunnel that is 114 m long, almost 3 metres wide and just 2.35 m high in places is therefore used by many people – pedestrians and cyclists alike. The construction bears signs of its history spanning more than a hundred years. You can how parts of the tunnel have been modified, sometimes with a low flat ceiling, sometimes as a round arched vault. In between there are lightwells of different lengths. The stone walls have a patina.

Many people used to feel a bit uneasy using the tunnel between Dr.-C.-Otto-Str. and the banks of the Ruhr, especially after dark. But this is no longer the case following the renovation of the tunnel which has given it barrier-free access ramps and a new lighting design. Architect and lighting designer Peter Brdenk developed a concept for the harsh industrial environment that also has a quirky aspect with pole luminaires imitating human postures and movements. The luminaires almost seem to walk through the tunnel themselves and to communicate. Sometimes sitting, sometimes bent, sometimes conventionally straight – each luminaire is unique and boasts an individually coloured pole. 18 WE-EF street and area lighting luminaires from the ZFT440 LED family, with symmetric [C60] beam in the colour temperature 4000 K, form the basis for these light sculptures. They ensure functional and reliable lighting with individual coloured accents provided by three blue and two green filtered luminaires.

At each entrance to the tunnel the individual light poles are slightly bent and illuminate both the area around them plus speech bubbles on the wall containing information on the surroundings. In the tunnel itself 26 DLO239 LED wall luminaires from WE-EF are installed and provide pleasant illuminances. In the lightwells the ZFT400 luminaires almost seem to meet and communicate. “Colourful light figures” occupy the space and illuminate it: cheerful and original, perhaps a little disconcerting, but with a clear mission to bring light into the dark. It is not least thanks to WE-EF’s expertise and flexibility in the production of customised outdoor luminaires that a thoroughfare has been created giving a wide range of users a feeling of safety at all times, yet without completely abandoning the tunnel’s somewhat mysterious, morbid and adventurous character.

Completion: 2020

Principal: City of Bochum

Light planning: Peter Brdenk, Essen

Photos: Frieder Blickle for WE-EF