Lightline, Uster, 2008
Polychrome Light Installation

At night, the lights – barely visible by day and embedded in the road surface – stand out in a zigzag line. Slowly flowing changes of intensity and colour enliven the installation, which is monochrome to trichrome according to the season, and gives the city crossroads a marked identity. Artificial light is used here not as a static medium, but as a dynamic one.

The possibility of smoothly adapting its brightness and colour to functional and aesthetic requirements that vary over time provides diverse potential for designing the public space and its night-time qualities. This means the light can unfold a “behaviour”, which helps to generate a specific urban identity. In view of such extended properties, we consider light to be a fascinating building material and a contemporary means of design in urban planning.

Credits:
Concept and Architecture: Gramazio & Kohler, Zurich
Light planning: Atelier Derrer, Zurich
Light programming: Ralph Bärtschi, Zurich
Programming: Patrick Sibenaler, sibenaler mca, Zurich