Light route Rotterdam

The result of the reconstruction of Rotterdam was regarded by many as gray and colorless. Cor Kraat was part of the artists' collective Kunst & Vaarwerk, which reacted with humor and irony to the gray modernist street scene. Annoyance about the monotony of the city was Kraat's main motivation from the start. “It doesn't have to be pretty, but it does have to stand out,” says Cor Kraat, who designed this winding lamppost.

A 24 meter long light line balances on the roof edge of the Schouwburg. In the evening, the unlit stage tower serves as a plinth. The light bar seems to be in shaky balance, but in reality it is firmly fixed. The artist said about this: “Just as that beam balances on the edge of the abyss, anyone who is involved in theater in a good way always navigates the dangerous border between falling and staying upright”.

Constructed from steel ribs, this variant of the old city gate looks like a three-dimensional line drawing. Kraet made the New Delftse Poort to the city gate from 1940, which was bombed in 1764 and subsequently demolished. The work is lit up as a monument and stands on the same spot as the old gate, now surrounded by a motorway and the advancing centre. That odd position, so wedged in, emphasizes the changing times.

'I'm not looking at a meter' said the ambitious reconstruction artist Louis van Roode boldly at the completion of this facade artwork, which was the largest artwork in Europe. The multicolored sculptural glass-in-concrete windows were his idea, which gave this national monument the nickname 'Post Cathedral'. The 22 windows color the stairwell in all shades of the rainbow. Inside, another 15 artists have applied 34 wall paintings, sculptures and mosaics.

The story goes that after the bombing of May 1940, zebras grazed on the Diergaardesingel and a sea lion swam in the Westersingel. In memory of the zoo that once stood here, artist Herman Lamers designed a surrealistic monument consisting of four aluminum stork nests with a life-size zebra on one nest. The nests stand on lampposts and form a spatial work of art on the square after a design by Lilith Ronner van Hooijdonk.

At 2,38 meters tall, the gentle Rigardus Rijnhout (1922-1959) was known as the Giant of Rotterdam. To experience how big he was, Lamers put a life-size statue that you can stand next to on a stage. The way in which the image is lit creates an enlarged shadow on the wall behind, which makes the giant even more monumental and enhances the theatrical staging. The lighting design is by Atelier LEK.

The luminous ribs of this light sculpture vibrate on this 100-year-old electricity house. It is a network visualization annex globe, in which the port city of Rotterdam is the center of the world, even of the universe. The lines end at 010. With this, Coenen and Roskam want to give the young people in the neighborhood self-confidence: the world is at your feet, make something of it!

As the Netherlands' most famous environmental artist, Struycken creates monumental work in relation to architecture and public space. The columns of Het Nieuwe Instituut, designed by Jo Coenen, are illuminated after sunset and change color every ten minutes. A computer program ensures that the red, green and blue lamps always show a different combination of primary and mixed colours. The light arcade is popular and photogenic.

Now that everything is as it has become, now that everything is as it is, though, maybe though, it will finally be all right. These lines of poetry can be read in the facade of the Sophia Children's Hospital, part of the Erasmus MC and come from the poem Daylight by Judith Herzberg. The work consists of alternating white and blue lights, which are beautifully placed in the facade wall and light up at night. Karel Martens designed this work, which refers to what happens behind the facade in the hospital.

This crying war memorial commemorates the bombing of 14 May 1940. It was a gift from the Bijenkorf to Rotterdam. At the time, people were shocked by such a radically modern work of art, but now they have taken it to their hearts. Zadkine's beloved personification of 'a city without a heart' becomes even more dramatic at night thanks to the sophisticated spotlight, which illuminates the image like a searchlight from the adjacent residential tower. The lighting design is by Atelier LEK.

Originally, the river Rotte flowed on the site of this tunnel, to which the city of Rotterdam owes its roots. Two academy students designed a tribute for this location by designing the Rotte as 'roots of the city' in Corten steel and illuminating the back with LED light. For example, a magically lit place was developed and it makes this tunnel a lot less scary at night. It is an ode to the unstoppable growth and positivism of Rotterdam.

According to artist Joe Cillen, the North Island is not an island, but a ship. If the island were to throw off its bridges, it could choose the open sea. Captain Cillen has been working with artists, designers and islanders for years to make Motorship Noordereiland seaworthy. Part of this project is a red and green light beacon on the roof of a residential complex to mark port and starboard.

No, the client found that too confrontational at the time to put the letters ZUID in neon on the roof. At that time, the term was still synonymous with problem neighbourhoods. Körmeling then chose 1989, the year of construction of this flat, as is often stated on buildings. You often see that as a facing brick, but never in the form of such a gigantic neon advertisement. The year also functions as a time clock: the more years pass, the more this work of art belongs to the past.

Katendrecht is on the rise following the campaign 'Kun je aan de Kaap?'. Atjehstraat, a typical street from the urban renewal period, did not quite fit into that picture. It is therefore special that artist Rudolf Teunissen presented an ambitious light artwork in this street in particular, and that all those involved in the restructuring of the area immediately put their shoulders to the wheel. A rhythmic geometric game of mirrors illuminates the facades and on the ground you imagine yourself in a forest where sunlight falls through the canopy. This is the first work of art that completely replaced public lighting, which involved a lot of pioneering. The work has been awarded several international prizes, including the prestigious LAMP Award in 2011.

Filmhuis LantarenVenster is housed in the New Orleans building designed by architect Álvaro Zisa from 2010. In the shop window you can see a light artwork consisting of LED lighting on which an animation of a moving horse can be seen. The stop-motion technique, based on the early photography of Eadweard Muybridge, has been translated into a software-driven installation by artist Giny Vos in collaboration with InventDesign. Light Gig is an ode to early celluloid including scratches and flashes of light.