Graphic designer works on Leeds tunnel

The project saw sound and light artist Hans Peter Kuhn and Leeds-based graphic designer Andy Edwards work with Bauman Lyons Architects and acoustic engineer Arup, to form a sound and light installation.

Kuhn and Edwards were appointed by Bauman Lyons to each work on opposing east and west walls of the tunnel, but use the same alminium materials.

The project has been funded by Leeds City Council as part of a wider initiative to improve driver and pedestrian experience by widening footpaths, reducing ambient noise and enhancing lighting within the tunnel.

Working on the west wall, Edwards has used a ‘moiré’ technique by overlaying two sheets of punctured aluminium to cause a shimmering effect, which he says ‘looks like mackerel skin’.

The technique, he says, make the dots appear to clash – something printers traditionally tried to avoid.

A lecturer in graphic design at Leeds Metropolitan University, Edwards says he is pleased to be involved in a project that is not of a ‘typographic or pictographic nature’.

Behind the perforated aluminium sheets, sound-absorbing devices, designed by Arup, have been installed to help mute traffic noise.

‘The whole piece is about counter-flow, acting like a chevron device which can only be appreciated when moving,’ says Edwards.

Kuhn’s east wall features thousands of LED lights, which generate a random pattern each day, accompanied by a soundscape, created in collaboration with Arup.