'Light' Neville Street

‘Light’ Neville Street was a £4.6million urban project in Leeds that prioritised sound and light in its engineered 100m long tunnel infrastructure.[1][2]

Embedded in the specially constructed 100-metre-long thoroughfare, A Light and Sound Transit by the artist Hans Peter Kuhn[3] provided an example of cutting-edge, contemporary public art.[4][5][6] It gained national attention as a permanent sculptural work that consisted of sound and computing technologies.

Neville Street prior to 2009.

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.[2][7][8]

'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.[9]

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.[10] 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.[11]

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.[7]

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.[12]

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.[13][14] Artists were brought into the design team at a very early stage of concept development.[8]

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.[15] Leeds-based graphic artist Andy Edwards’ ‘Counterflow’, used a moiree optical effect to increase drivers' speed awareness on entering the city to slow down traffic movement.[16]

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.[17]

Policy

Investment of £2 million was provided by Leeds City Council with £1.95mill from Yorkshire Forward and Northern Way contributing £646,000.[18] Onsite works began in June 2009 and the scheme launched in November 2009.[19]

Highly engineered panels of graffiti resistant aluminium housed a sound-absorbent material (Quietstone) to reduce the noise level.[18] 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.[10]

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.[20]

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’.[7]

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’.[21] 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.[22][23]

In the case of the Leeds project, £646,000 funded the artist’s fees, PA speaker system, a major interpretation and education programmes, and public messaging and marketing.

Public engagement and exhibitions

Klanging Banging

A training programme for 'Light' Neville Street, entitled Klanging Banging, provided 12- month bursaries for emergent sound artists.[24] 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.[25] The programme was produced by MAAP in partnership with Lumen Arts.[26]

Sonic Postcards

An educational project exploring experimental sound with pupils and teachers from four Leeds schools in partnership with Sonic Arts Network.[27][28]

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.[29][30]

Decommissioning

The project was decommissioned due to an extensive redevelopment of Leeds Railway Station in 2023.[31]

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.[32] The archive includes a 360 degree movie of the Neville Street tunnel with the artists' light and sound works viewable on a VR headset.[33]

References

  1. ↑ "'Welcoming look sheds light on city's Dark Arches'". Yorkshire Post. 29 October 2009.
  2. 1 2 "Opening light for a project that turns a dingy tunnel into art 24/10/2009". Yorkshire Evening Post. 24 October 2009.
  3. ↑ Kuhn, Hans Peter. "A Sound and Light Transit". Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  4. ↑ Ball, Sue (2024-12-01). "'Light' Neville Street: A case study of sound and light". Art & the Public Sphere. 13 (2): 233–243. doi:10.1386/aps_00110_1. ISSN 2042-793X.
  5. ↑ "Creator of sonic environments Hans Peter Kuhn transforms a no-go area of Leeds into a cavalcade of sound and light". The Wire. 1 October 2009.
  6. ↑ "Artist to shed new light on beauty of grimy city underpass". Yorkshire Post. 23 October 2009.
  7. 1 2 3 Ginley, Joanne (23 October 2009). "Arches to lose dark tag in £4million revamp". Yorkshire Evening Post.
  8. 1 2 "Light at The End of the Tunnel". Arts Professional. 17 November 2008.
  9. ↑ "Neville Street tunnel in Leeds one of most polluted roads in England". Yorkshire Evening Post. 29 July 2020.
  10. 1 2 "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". BBC Radio 4, Front Row. 23 October 2009.
  11. ↑ "LiteLED announce Neville Street project in Leeds". LEDS Magazine. 30 October 2009.
  12. ↑ "On Location, Neville Street". Green Places Guide. 1 March 2008.
  13. ↑ "Bauman Lyons completes Dark Arches revamp". Architects Journal. 28 January 2008.
  14. ↑ "Light Neville Street". Media And Arts Partnership (MAAP). 1 January 2009.
  15. ↑ "Under the Arches, Ben Johnson visits one of Leeds' latest artistic innovations in one of the city's darkest corners". City Living. 23 July 2009.
  16. ↑ "Go-ahead city turning ancient into modern'". The Yorkshire Post. 28 January 2008.
  17. ↑ "State of the Art'". Engineering, for innovators in technology, manufacturing and management. 1 January 2009.
  18. 1 2 "'Light' Neville Street,". Fusion Global Business Solutions. October 2008.
  19. ↑ "Neville Street Tunnel". Green Places. 1 March 2009.
  20. ↑ "'Darkness falls on tunnel lighting job'". Professional Surveyor. 12 April 2009.
  21. ↑ "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". Architecture + Art Collaborative. 15 October 2008.
  22. ↑ Farley, Rebecca (2025-01-02). "'Welcome to the North': Public Art, Place-Marketing and the Northern Imaginary". Visual Culture in Britain. 23 (1): 65–81. doi:10.1080/14714787.2022.2094457. ISSN 1471-4787.
  23. ↑ Usher, Strange. "Evaluating public art in the North of England: Logic models, frameworks and emerging impact". Sage Journals. doi:10.1177/0269094211401490. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
  24. ↑ "Turn your journey into art, one of five artists awarded a bursery to help transform Neville Street". YEP. 8 May 2008.
  25. ↑ "Sound of the City' on young artists' installations". Big Issue North. 20 October 2008.
  26. ↑ "Klanging Banging". Media and Arts Partnership (MAAP).
  27. ↑ "Its the Sound' youngsters from three south Leeds school are making 'sonic postcards'". Yorkshire Evening Post. 29 May 2009.
  28. ↑ "Sonic Postcards". Media And Arts Projects (MAAP). 1 January 2009.
  29. ↑ Clark, Robert (13 September 2008). "Exhibition preview: Hans Pater Kuhn: Licht auf Licht, Leeds". The Guardian.
  30. ↑ "Art 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.
  31. ↑ "Decommissioned public artwork finds new future". 5 March 2024.
  32. ↑ "The archive is in the process of accessioning material related to this project, including early sketches, design proposals and technical documentation". Henry Moore Institute.
  33. ↑ "VR offers chance to see city's state-of-the-art installation in a new light". Leeds City Council. 4 March 2024.
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