Artist / Designers: The Design team includes BaumanLyons Architects www.baumanlyons.co.uk; Arups Acoustics, world-renowned acoustics specialists, www.arup.co ; Hans Peter Kuhn, international sound and light artist with a focus on urban regeneration, www.hpkuhn-art.de, Andy Edwards, Leeds-based graphic designer.
Title: Light Neville Street
Date: November 08
Place: Neville Street, Leeds
Commissioners and Funders: Leeds City Council, Yorkshire Forward, the Northern Way

Overview

Neville Street services traffic from Holbeck, Beeston and the M621 motorway; it is the main connector for residents, commuters and visitors to the city. The scheme aims to “re-establish this vital road and make it safe and welcoming for the benefit of the local community, including residents, local businesses, their employees and clients and visitors to the city” (Neville Street press release).
The plans for the Neville Street installation include:

• Robust, graffiti-resistant, anodised aluminium wall panels will contain an innovative sound-absorbing material called QuietStone, used in the Channel Tunnel and the London Underground to manage sound-levels.
• A new lighting scheme incorporating thousands of LED’s to improve light levels in the tunnel. Pre-programmed to change daily, the LED display will also enhance the aesthetic experience of the tunnel for users.
• An audio installation will be created to soften the traffic noise experienced in the tunnel.
• A complimentary lighting scheme installed on the west wall will subtly remind drivers to watch their speed, whilst improving security in the tunnel by contributing to a lighter, brighter environment added to existing CCTV cameras at either end of the tunnel.

Bryan and Laura visited Bauman Lyons Architects on Day 25.

Discussion

Watch the Bauman Lyons video footage along with the Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane video footage in the Greasy Pole case study section. Consider the power of public art to function on an immediate community level, facilitating happy by-products like the widening of pavements in ‘Light Neville Street’ and bypassing Health and Safety regulations in the ‘Greasy Pole’.

Consider the level of community engagement, discussion, and processes, necessary for these kinds of positive outcomes to arise in a public art project.