Lighting design pedestrian underpass

Rheinfelden (Baden), 2016

The guiding principle of the Rheinfelden master plan is to strengthen and bring together the individual quarters and the green thoroughfare of the city all the way to the river, from which it has so far been largely cut off by a railway embankment running parallel to the bank. Last but not least, Rheinfelden is to be connected to its Swiss sister city on the other side of the Rhine. As one of the first concrete measures, the renovation and design upgrade of the pedestrian underpass through the railway embankment was decided.

The special geographical constellation of the two Rheinfelden suggests making the Rhine the leitmotif of the design and addressing its importance for the people on both sides of the river from different perspectives: the connecting and delimiting aspects, their historical manifestations as well as the emotional significance of the river , which is reflected in old myths and traditional stories.

One side of the 60 m long tunnel therefore depicts the course of the river in the Rheinfelden section in an abstract silhouette, as if in an illuminated silhouette. The opposite tunnel wall, on the other hand, is dedicated to the history and stories of the Rhine. In the texts that are assembled here, the river »tells« events and legends and points out sights and curiosities on both sides of the bank. In addition to the creative and atmospheric possibilities that opened up, functional safety aspects could also be taken into account because the room is brightly and evenly illuminated. The schemes of the crossing pedestrians and cyclists, which are cast onto the text wall by the light band, are part of the staging. In this way, passers-by literally immerse themselves in the Rheinfelden river of history and become part of the stories told by the river.