'Light and Sound Transit' at Neville Street tunnel

Urban project in Leeds, England ‘Light’ Neville Street was a £4.6million urban project in Leeds that prioritised sound and light in its engineered 100m long tunnel infrastructure.29 October 2009 'Welcoming look sheds light on city's Dark Arches' Yorkshire Post24 October 2009 Opening light for a project that turns a dingy tunnel into art 24/10/2009 Yorkshire Evening Post Embedded in the specially constructed 100-metre-long thoroughfare, A Light and Sound Transit by the artist Hans Peter KuhnKuhn Hans Peter A Sound and Light Transit https://hanspeterkuhn.com/installations/a-light-and-sound-transit/ 18 August 2026 provided an example of cutting-edge, contemporary public art.Ball Sue 2024-12-01 'Light' Neville Street: A case study of sound and light https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/aps_00110_1 Art & the Public Sphere en 13 2 233–243 10.1386/aps_00110_1 2042-793X subscription 1 October 2009 Creator of sonic environments Hans Peter Kuhn transforms a no-go area of Leeds into a cavalcade of sound and light The Wire23 October 2009 Artist to shed new light on beauty of grimy city underpass Yorkshire Post It gained national attention as a permanent sculptural work that consisted of sound and computing technologies. The upgrade of the Neville Street tunnel was a major scheme in the Holbeck Urban Village development, led through a partnership between Leeds City Council, Yorkshire Forward and The Northern Way.Ginley Joanne 23 October 2009 Arches to lose dark tag in £4million revamp Yorkshire Evening Post thumb|'Light' Neville Street, Leeds launched in 2009, decommissioned in 2023. The tunnel entrance into the city remains an enclosed site with high levels of pollution. It has been cited as the fourth most polluted street in the UK by Friends of the Earth, exceeding UK safety targets with double the recommended levels of nitrogen dioxide.29 July 2020 Neville Street tunnel in Leeds one of most polluted roads in England https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/health/neville-street-tunnel-in-leeds-one-of-most-polluted-roads-in-england-2927050 Yorkshire Evening Post Launch Launched in 2009, the interplay of light and sound transformed the gateway tunnel into an immersive urban landscape for its 13,000 daily users.23 October 2009 A long, dark underpass beneath the railway tracks on Neville Street in Leeds has been transformed by new work from artists Hans Peter Kuhn and Andy Edwards. Geoff Bird reports from the opening and finds out whether the city's pedestrians appreciate the change. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b00n7nr8 BBC Radio 4, Front Row It sought to improve lighting, reduce traffic noise and alter perceptions about the safety of the tunnel for pedestrians. It was decommissioned due to an extensive redevelopment of Leeds Railway Station in 2023.30 October 2009 LiteLED announce Neville Street project in Leeds LEDS Magazine thumb|Neville Street prior to 2009 Commissioned within the Holbeck Urban Village development, the upgrade of the tunnel was a policy priority to re-establish the vital tunnel infrastructure to allow for the expansion of the city centre into the south aspects of the city and the neighborhoods of Holbeck and Beeston. The Neville Street scheme incorporated physical improvements to the infrastructure of the tunnel that included noise dampening panels, extending the pavements, bus stop relocation and the reduction of traffic lanes from four to three.1 March 2008 On Location, Neville Street Green Places Guide Bauman Lyons Architects led a team of Arup specialists including engineers and acousticians, Leeds company LiteLED, public art agency MAAP with Leeds City Council project management.28 January 2008 Bauman Lyons completes Dark Arches revamp Architects Journal1 January 2009 Light Neville Street https://www.maap.org.uk/project/light-neville-street/ Media And Arts Partnership (MAAP) Artists were brought into the design team at a very early stage of concept development.17 November 2008 Light at The End of the Tunnel Arts Professional Berlin based artist Hans Peter Kuhn created A Light and Sound Transit as grids of LED lights that changed once per day and a subtle sound composition that balanced the noise from inside the tunnel.23 July 2009 Under the Arches, Ben Johnson visits one of Leeds' latest artistic innovations in one of the city's darkest corners City Living Leeds-based graphic artist Andy Edwards’ ‘Counterflow’, used a moiré optical effect to increase drivers' speed awareness on entering the city to slow down traffic movement.28 January 2008 Go-ahead city turning ancient into modern' The Yorkshire Post The design created a practical pairing of art and science by using sound, light, architecture and engineering technologies, and balanced the need for a functional and durable installation with the desire for an aesthetically pleasing and impressive artwork.1 January 2009 State of the Art' Engineering, for innovators in technology, manufacturing and management Policy Investment of £2 million was provided by Leeds City Council with £1.95mill from Yorkshire Forward and Northern Way contributing £646,000.October 2008 'Light' Neville Street Fusion Global Business Solutions Onsite works began in June 2009 and the scheme launched in November 2009.1 March 2009 Neville Street Tunnel Green Places Highly engineered panels of graffiti resistant aluminium housed a sound-absorbent material (Quietstone) to reduce the noise level. To improve lighting and passive security, a high-performance Meyer PA speaker system with 24 speakers arranged in pairs was mounted on the overhead canopy with computer hardware for Kuhn's sound artwork. 3,200 embedded LEDs as part of 28,500 acrylic 'stalks' embedded in the perforated wall panels for the East Wall, arranged in gridlines, changed pattern each day. Works had to be temporarily halted as the lead contractor Wrekin went into administration with the Scunthorpe firm Saferoad BLG taking on the role as a previous sub-contractor.12 April 2009 'Darkness falls on tunnel lighting job' Professional Surveyor Councillor Andrew Carter, leader of Leeds City Council ‘Neville Street should mark the point of entry into a world-class city and remind the UK’s business sector that we are a business-ready city’. Welcome to the North Public art was part of UK National Government policy to re-balance the North/South economic divide through an investment programme called ‘Welcome to the North’.15 October 2008 This Special Edition focussed on the North of England, and in particular a pan-regional public art programme called Welcome to the North being commissioned by the Northern Way in partnership with the three northern Regional Development Agencies. https://www.atoll-uk.com/welcome-to-the-north/ Architecture + Art Collaborative A Light and Sound Transit was selected as one of six iconic public sculptures, launched between 2007 and 2010, alongside Antony Gormley’s Another Place, Crosby Beach and Richard Wilson’s Turning the Place Over. The artworks received investment from a £100m growth initiative led by the Labour Government who recognised the potential of public art as a cultural catalyst.Farley Rebecca 2025-01-02 'Welcome to the North': Public Art, Place-Marketing and the Northern Imaginary Visual Culture in Britain en 23 1 65–81 10.1080/14714787.2022.2094457 1471-4787 free Usher David Strange Ian Evaluating public art in the North of England: Logic models, frameworks and emerging impact Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit 2011 26 3 203–213 10.1177/0269094211401490 In the case of the Leeds project, £646,000 funded the artist’s fees, PA speaker system, a major interpretation and education programme, and public messaging and marketing.August 2026 Public engagement and exhibitions Klanging Banging A training programme for 'Light' Neville Street, entitled Klanging Banging, provided 12- month bursaries for emergent sound artists.8 May 2008 Turn your journey into art, one of five artists awarded a bursery to help transform Neville Street YEP Four students from Leeds universities with specialisms in composition, music technology and fine art were selected and created new pieces of sound art for Neville Street and Holbeck Urban Village. Junction by Stuart Childs and Chris Martin, located on the Granary Wharf canal side, was a sonic re-telling of the industrial past of the area to the evolution of digital and knowledge industries. Tom Cookson’s piece Urban Birdsong drew parallels between the sounds of city, traffic and nature from specially created birdbox in the trees at the entrance to Neville Street.20 October 2008 Sound of the City' on young artists' installations Big Issue North The programme was produced by MAAP in partnership with Lumen Arts.Klanging Banging https://www.maap.org.uk/project/klanging-banging/ Media and Arts Partnership (MAAP) Sonic Postcards An educational project exploring experimental sound with pupils and teachers from four Leeds schools in partnership with Sonic Arts Network.29 May 2009 Its the Sound' youngsters from three south Leeds school are making 'sonic postcards' Yorkshire Evening Post1 January 2009 Sonic Postcards https://www.maap.org.uk/project/sonic-postcards/ Media And Arts Projects (MAAP) Licht auf Licht (Light on Light) Hans Peter Kuhn projects, photography by Gerhard Kassner 13 September- 8 November 2008, Project Space Leeds. Kassner’s large scale images depict Hans Peter Kuhn’s international portfolio of public projects which transform urban landscapes and industrial architecture using light and sound.Clark Robert 13 September 2008 Exhibition preview: Hans Pater Kuhn: Licht auf Licht, Leeds The GuardianArt Review: Licht auf Licht, PSL Gallery; 26 large photographs by Gerhard Kassner of Kuhn's previous installations in Germany, Denmark and the USA. The Metro Decommissioning The project was decommissioned due to an extensive redevelopment of Leeds Railway Station in 2023.5 March 2024 Decommissioned public artwork finds new future https://henry-moore.org/press/decommissioned-public-artwork-finds-new-future/ Archiving The ‘Light’ Neville Street collection of documents is now held in the Henry Moore Institute's Archive of Sculptors’ Papers partnership with Leeds Museums and Galleries.The archive is in the process of accessioning material related to this project, including early sketches, design proposals and technical documentation. https://henry-moore.org/henry-moore-institute/research-library-and-archive/archive-of-sculptors-papers/archive-collections/light-neville-street/ Henry Moore Institute 26 July 2022 The archive includes a 360 degree movie of the Neville Street tunnel with the artists' light and sound works viewable on a VR headset.4 March 2024 VR offers chance to see city's state-of-the-art installation in a new light https://news.leeds.gov.uk/news/vr-offers-chance-to-see-citys-state-of-the-art-installation-in-a-new-light Leeds City Council References Category:Streets in Leeds Category:Light art Category:Public art Category:Articles with quotation marks in the title