A BEACON OF LIGHT
07 Feb 2019
This art installation/street light in The Netherlands perches on the edge of a viaduct like a bird of prey about to swoop, serving as both a point of interest and a light source in the neighbourhood.
This sharp ‘light beacon,’ KAPKAR/LB2-SV is studio Frank Havermans‘s latest constructive achievement for the municipality of Leeuwarden, in The Netherlands. It grasps parasitically onto the viaduct named after English engineer, George Stephenson (1781 -1848). Stephenson invented the first usable steam locomotive and the first, safe-to-use mining lamp. 
The three elements that informed this design were: the mine lamp, the desire for a constructive challenge, and the space found between the deck of the viaduct and the road, below. From these findings, came a new beacon of light.
“To make the location more challenging,” says Frank Havermans,“ I designed a new sheet pile branch. This disk disconnects from the viaduct but is connected to it. The light beacon clamps itself on top of this disk, a bird on a shoulder, and leans four meters lower against it. This is the centre of gravity in the construction.” 
Images René de Wit via Designboom
