Keel Crossing, Sunderland (GBR)

The Keel Crossing spans the River Wear in Sunderland, UK, over a length of 260 metres, 30 metres above the water. It connects Keel Square in the city centre with the Stadium of Light and forms the backbone of the new Riverside Sunderland urban quarter. For the lighting of the upper walkway, ewo developed a custom luminaire within the ewoIndividual solution level, fully integrated into the bridge railing. Around 130 luminaires in eight variants provide glare-free light across the ten-metre-wide walkway. Tunable White technology and individually controllable light modules change the lighting effect on the bridge throughout the evening and on special occasions. The project won the Gold Award in the Lighting category at the Scottish Design Awards.

The elegant bridge is a collaboration between Knight Architects, responsible for the bridge architecture, and ARUP, who developed the lighting design. The client was Sunderland City Council, and the bridge was built by VolkerStevin. The brief from the planners was demanding: the railing had to take on the lighting function itself, without any visible luminaires. At the same time, the lighting had to provide sufficient safety for pedestrians and cyclists, without restricting the open view of the city and the river.

A standard solution did not meet these requirements. ARUP approached ewo directly to develop a new luminaire tailored to the bridge.

The EL custom luminaire was manufactured for the Keel Crossing in eight versions, fitted with between two and twelve ewoLightTile modules. The different versions follow the varying heights of the railing posts, into which the luminaires are flush-mounted. All variants work with ewoLightTile technology, a large-area optic that renders individual LED points invisible and distributes the light homogeneously, glare-free and in line with standards. Some of the modules are designed as Tunable White and cover a colour temperature range from 2,200 to 6,500 Kelvin. Each module can be individually controlled via DALI and DMX.

At night, the light of the Keel Crossing changes continuously in brightness and colour temperature, echoing the reflections of the river. Sensors at both ends of the bridge activate the light scenes as soon as users step onto the bridge. On match days of the local football club Sunderland AFC, thousands of fans cross the bridge on their way to the Stadium of Light, and the lighting accompanies this dynamic with continuously changing light. For its lighting solution, the Keel Crossing received the Gold Award in the Lighting category at the Scottish Design Awards in 2026.