Central Bus Station (ZOB) and Europaplatz, Tübingen

The Central Bus Station (ZOB) and Europaplatz form the primary urban gateway for bus and rail travelers arriving in Tübingen. Together with the adjacent park landscape, the area has been comprehensively refurbished and enhanced with new underground parking, a high-speed bicycle route, a lakeside terrace café, and a variety of recreational amenities including a lakeside pier, water features, and sports and playground areas.
The lighting concept is guided by principles of sustainability, urban quality, and contemporary ecological awareness. Thirteen-meter-high masts with spirally arranged, glare-shielded luminaires provide targeted illumination with minimal light spill. Integrated Darklight downlights within the concrete canopies of the bus stops ensure visual comfort and safety. The overall lighting strategy follows the key principles of “light on demand,” “environmentally and user-responsive lighting,” and the creation of a welcoming urban nighttime atmosphere.
A bespoke system of graphic light symbols, referencing Tübingen’s cultural identity, is projected onto selected surfaces to create an additional layer of visual and emotional depth within the public space.
Along Bahnhofsallee and the park pathways, mast luminaires with custom glare-control grids precisely direct light onto the circulation routes while softly illuminating the adjacent greenery. Here too, projections of the “Tübingen light language” appear subtly within the landscape.
Within the Anlagenpark, PC-amber LED luminaires are used for their insect- and bat-friendly spectrum. Each luminaire is connected to a Smart City control system, which adjusts light levels dynamically based on detected movement—creating a sense of a gently moving “light cloud” around pedestrians and cyclists.
A shallow, terraced water feature adjacent to the bicycle station is animated at night by four dynamic projectors that create a turquoise, fluid “water light.”
A restored statue of a water nymph is subtly illuminated using a custom-embossed stainless-steel reflector and redirected dichroic “moonlight,” lending it a refined and poetic presence.
The “Blue Ribbon,” the new high-speed cycling route, is equipped with handrail-integrated lighting and full Smart City control, while the adjacent sports zone with yellow luminaires, the pirate-themed playground with LED fire baskets, and soft light masks around the pétanque area complete the holistic lighting composition.