In a Berlin neighborhood rebuilt sixty years ago, 1960s-era street lamps cast light everywhere except where it's needed. The spherical globes illuminate trees, balconies, and the sky itself—a small inefficiency that turns out to matter.
Light pollution disrupts sleep, scrambles animal migration, and dims the stars. Yet it barely registers as pollution at all. Artist Alona Rodeh decided to address it by working with the lamps rather than against them.
Caps that redirect light downward
Rodeh and her team created sculptural "caps" for 15 street lamps in Brunnenviertel, the Wedding district neighborhood where degewo, a social housing company, rebuilt the area in the 1960s. The caps—3D-printed from recycled plastic—gently redirect light downward onto pathways and sidewalks, reducing the skyglow that leaks into the night.
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Start Your News DetoxWhat makes this work is that Rodeh didn't impose a solution. She ran participatory workshops with local residents and children, letting the neighborhood shape what these caps would look like. The final designs carry the texture of everyday life: a stylized head covering called "Beduin," a bat with outstretched wings ("Geflügelter Schatten"), a playful propeller cap ("Cappie"). Each lamp post includes a QR code linking to a map and the story behind each piece.
The sculptures sit among uniform housing blocks and courtyards, adding moments of humor and individuality while doing something quieter: encouraging people to look up and notice the light above them, and think about what it's actually for.
The project shows how infrastructure doesn't have to be replaced to be improved—sometimes it just needs to be reimagined by the people who live beneath it.
