Urban Bike tour light artworks.

You can find Wervel in the parking garage of the Groninger Forum. Go to the parking garage in Schoolstraat. The parking garage is accessible via the bicycle cellar / connecting door to the garage. Next to the pedestrian door there is an i-button. If you press that you will get to speak to someone. If you say you're coming for Wervel, they'll let you in.

Albert Geertjes and Peter de Kan designed three fences for the passage under the Martinitoren in 2001, which are intended to keep out public peepers. The fences consist of stainless steel bars, each in the shape of an organ pipe with a Gothic kink. Lights have been mounted in the curved parts of the organ pipes, so that in the evening peepers are literally and figuratively put on display under the lighting.

Pipe and artwork form a landmark in the city and represent the development of the Ebbingekwartier from industrial activity to creative industry. The light object on the chimney pipe consists of 72 LED lights that are mounted on the pull bands around the pipe. According to a fixed scenario, they regularly change color and shape.

Originally, the lamps reacted to the moving trains – the light moved with the train. In 2011, the artwork received new LED lighting. A new lighting program has been set up in 2019, with endless variations.

This light artwork in the parking garage under the Ossenmarkt is freely accessible 24 hours a day. The parking garage is accessible via the main entrance with a bank card or a parking ticket. Hold the bank card or parking ticket in front of the scanner (not too short) and the doors will open.

No monotonous grey parking garage under the Ossenmarkt, thanks to the light artwork by Peter Struycken that's shining here. For this work, twenty light boxes were constructed that are placed on the floor of the garage. These light up the 14.5 meter high concrete construction that forms the core of the garage in constantly changing colors. The principle of the color changes is based on light color mixing of red, green and blue light. By making the lights shine more or less strongly, the color changes are created when mixing.

In the stairwell of the University Library you will find SHA_RE: an enormous light object by artist and designer Peter Musschenga. The installation makes scientific research in Groningen visible in the public space. This is done by a stream of photos, videos and texts in a grid that constantly changes shape and shape. This dynamic grid flows over a waterfall of LED panels that are mounted on every floor of the stairwell and continue up to the ceiling above the entrance. Thousands of photos, videos and even texts from dissertations are shown from historical and current scientific research at the university.

Good to know: this light work is not in continuous operation

In the Oude Kijk in ’t Jatstraat, between numbers 7 and 9, a corridor leads to the University Museum, with the artwork The Catwalk forming the base. It is made of polyester material with illuminated transparent surfaces, which point passers-by to the existence of the museum. The work by Architectuurstudio SKETS is part of the art project Kennisjaren 1994-2014 of the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. This project was started in 1994 on the occasion of the 380th anniversary of the university and ended in 2014 on the occasion of the 400th anniversary.

The Tschumipaviljoen (Tschumi Pavilion)was designed by the French-Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi, who is based in Paris and New York. It was created in 1990 as part of the What a Wonderful World! exhibition. The aim of the exhibition was to explore both the connection and the boundaries between art, visual culture, architecture and public space.

Until February 16, 2025, you can see Chromatic Reflections  by light artist Tamar Frank in the Tschumi Pavilion.For this coastal project, Frank and her team have completely covered the glass pavilion with chromatic foil. This material has the special property of changing color, depending on the viewing angle. This creates a spectacle of moving colours for the viewer, from blue to green, from yellow to magenta, and everything in between. In addition, the contours of the glass construction are made extra visible with the help of light lines. When it is dark, endless reflections within the pavilion become visible. Together with the reflective movements of the busy Hereplein, this creates a unique, dynamic cadence.

Above the roundabout in the bicycle shed, in a bustle of arriving and departing travelers, a snow house hangs upside down from the ceiling of the Stadsbalkon. Vos was captivated by the contrast and dispute that the Stadsbalkon and the main station seem to have with each other. With Second Thought, Vos mirrors the station from top to bottom, as it were, connecting the two structures underground as well.

For this artwork on the long wall along the Verlengde Lodewijkstraat, Hans van Bentem assumed sobriety. His artwork is inspired by the location on the railway line. The red brick wall has a pattern of ochre-coloured and black bricks that is based on systems and connections such as those that can also be seen at railway yards. At ten places on the wall, like a kind of bastions, light points have been placed that suggest stops. Especially when it is dark, the artwork has a special appearance due to the luminous blue, yellow, green and red.

Artists Tom Postma and Alexander Schabracq intended to break through the businesslike character of the building with this work of art and to reveal something of what is happening inside. The light effects and colours give the work something festive and cheerful. The flag also contributes to this. According to the artists, the red gemstone represents the 'sparkling, crystallised, ecstatic experience of every visitor to this centre.' In the evening, the tower is illuminated by blue neon.

The bridge over the Winschoterdiep has an explicitly visible technique: large hydraulic cylinders, each with a pump house, act as an eye-catcher on both sides of the bridge deck. In total, approximately 7,000 kilos of glass have been cut and sawn into large and small triangles.

The neon-lit organs on top of the bus stop refer to the center and periphery of the city. When you enter the city by bus, you pass the red heart in the Oosterstraat, a symbol for the center and the dynamic activity around it. When you leave the city, you travel via Gelkingestraat past the green lungs – referring to the suburbs – to the peace and space.