Railway station „UN Campus“ Bonn

Station "UN Campus"

The second project commissioned by the initiative InUrFaCE was the UN Campus station, which was (re)designed on behalf of go.Rheinland and Deutsche Bahn in fall 2024. In the abstract painting, insect species found in Germany that are affected by light pollution at railroad stations were depicted in greatly enlarged form.

Light pollution and biodiversity

Light pollution occurs when artificial light sources disturb the natural darkness of the night. Insects are particularly affected because many species are attracted to light. This makes them more vulnerable to their predators (e.g. bats, birds), can inhibit their reproduction and food intake and circling around the light until complete exhaustion often leads to the death of the animals. The research project BALIN (“Insect conservation at railway stations through insect friendly lighting”) investigates the effects of light pollution from rail transport on insects. The project partners are Museum Koenig (LIB), Deutsches Zentrum für Schienenverkehrsforschung (DZSF) and DB InfraGO AG.

Project facilitator:

go.Rheinland and DB InfraGO

In 2022, go.Rheinland and DB InfraGO AG launched a graffiti campaign in which art graffiti is bringing color to more and more railway stations. In addition to the removal of so-called tags or careless lettering, stations in the go.Rheinland area are being embellished with street art.

The BALIN project

The BALIN project is investigating the effects of light pollution on insects on platforms. Platforms require lighting to ensure safety and orientation. The project is testing alternative luminaires to reduce the attraction of insects. If the lighting modification show positive results, the findings will be incorporated into the guidelines of Deutsche Bahn. The consortium project (Museum Koenig (LIB), DZSF, DB InfraGo) is funded by the German Federal Programme for Biological Diversity.

The artists

As with the mural in Maxstraße, the two artists Kai „Semor“ Niederhausen and Roman „Jack Lack“ de Laporte worked together on the design. Still inspired by the InUrFaCE workshop at the Museum Koeng (LIB) and equipped with further input from biodiversity science, they painted the almost 900 square meters of the “UN Campus” station.

The scientist

Carmen Ludreschl

Carmen Ludreschl is a biodiversity researcher at the Museum Koenig (LIB) in Bonn. In her doctoral thesis, she is investigating the attraction effect of night-time platform lighting on insect diversity with the aim of reducing the impact in future.

“With my research, I try my best to make a small contribution to the protection and preservation of our environment. It is all the more motivating when scientific work is made visible to the public through art and environmental protection can thus be brought into the conversation. Perhaps it will encourage one or the other to think about it and maybe even help, so that many small pieces are put together to form an ever growing piece of the puzzle for the protection of our natural environment.”

LIB scientist Dr. Katharina Schmidt-Loske, who had already shared her fascination and knowledge with the artists at the InUrFaCE workshop at the Museum Koenig (LIB), was once again on hand to advise the InUrFaCE association.