Nobel Week Lights

Inspired by Nobel Prize-awarded innovations and laureates, Nobel Week Lights is an annual event featuring stunning light art projects that illuminate various locations in Stockholm from December 4 to December 12, 2021.

During Nobel Week Lights 2021, artists and designers combined creativity and technology in an exploration of significant scientific achievements. The idea was to create a shared cultural experience that would spark curiosity, new ideas, and reimagine the urban environment.

Inspired by Alfred Nobel, one of the temporary installations, Riddle 102, located inside the Brunkeberg pedestrian tunnel (Brunkebergstunneln), was designed by Rodrigo Muro, Foteini Kyriakidou and students at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Architectural Lighting Design Master’s Program.

Strands of Color Kinetics iColor Flex LMX gen2 full-color nodes (now specified with Flex Compact gen3, RGB) were selected for the project.

“The Lighting Installation captures the binomial nature of Alfred Nobel’s character. On one side there is his technical approach, by which he created numerous inventions such as Patent 102 (dynamite) for the benefit of humankind. On the other, his artistic side by which he wrote poetry such as the famous poem, You say I am a riddle. Both of these gave inspiration to Riddle 102 and the light installation at Brunkebergstunneln.

The installation aims to be an immersive experience, altering the perception of the tunnel’s physicality. Much like the time continuum altered space into a new reality, the tunnel brings back the memory of the blasting and freezing techniques that made its construction possible. The core of the tunnel will break as well as merge both experiences into a spatial riddle. Different luminous translucent surfaces will visually and emotionally connect to Hot and Cold concepts, bring mystery to the experience, and reshape the physicality of the tunnel. Additional multi-sensorial aspects, sound and heat, add richness to the immersive experience of the lighting installation.” – Project description courtesy, Nobel Week Lights and KTH