Interstitial Spaces of Light: Ephemeral Bicycle Infrastructure

Under most circumstances, bike lanes, bridges, and tunnels are designed around the existing network of sidewalks and streets. Fortunately, there are instances where cycling is not only being considered at the initial stages of urban design, but put at the forefront to create advantageous public spaces. Around the world, innovative thinkers have dreamt up newfangled cycling infrastructure that goes beyond accommodation, staging experiential voyages with light.

This collection explores how the introduction of LEDs, light boxes, colored-glass, and various lighting schemes encourages exploration of the momentary spaces between cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles. Pedal into another world below …

Interference: An Interactive Tunnel by Kollision, Kolding, Denmark

Using sensor data to create a unique and dynamic urban experience, “Interference” comprises a series of light boxes that illuminate as passersby move through the interactive tunnel. By creating spaces of light in between those moving along the tunnel, it heightens people’s perceptions of their principal axes of passage, their exits, and one other.

Cykelslangen/The Bicycle Snake by DISSING+WEITLING architecture, Copenhagen, Denmark

With cyclists in mind, DISSING+WEITLING replaced an old staircase with a new bicycle bridge that completely separates those on pedals from people on foot. Doubling as a roof for pedestrians, the long sculptural bridge above the pathway allows cyclists to move quickly and efficiently through the area with a thrilling view.

“Any-Angled Light” – Bear Canyon Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge by Tillett Lighting Design, Inc., Albuquerque, New Mexico

Snaking over Interstate 25 in Albuquerque, this blue-glowing bridge contains 450 LED lighting fixtures with custom handmade dichroic glass lenses, which conjure “a dream of water and memory of sky.” At twilight, the overpass illuminates harmoniously with the hue of the sky, and as darkness descends, the hidden qualities of the lighting scheme reveal themselves in echoes of purple, violet, and pink.

Into the Shadow by NIO architecten, Amsterdam, Netherlands

This tunnel mentally (and arguably also physically) transports visitors to a different place as they pass through walls equipped with 12,000 dazzling LED strips covered by a screen of frosted, tempered glass. The effect results in a story being told through shadows: within the profusion of light, a series of contours move across the tunnel walls.

GASP!by Room 11 Architects, Glenorchy, Australia

GASP! (an acronym of Glenorchy Art and Sculpture Park) is a two-mile riverside pathway in Tasmania where radiantly hued boardwalks weave through public pavilions hosting contemporary art events and installations. Moving beyond the vividly striped walkways, visitors can find shelter, seating, and a place for reflection in various pavilions placed along the route.

Angelic Drive by NIO architecten, Amersfoort, Netherlands

Designed as the new entrance to Amersfoort, the gray concrete walls of Angelic Drive are clad in pearl glass mosaic. The civil underpass contains a magical passage where, upon entering, one discovers four light pylons piercing the sky.