The Van Gogh Path: Re-Defining and Re-Designing Our Future Roads

Here at Serious Wonder we’ve done a lot of coverage on social design lab Studio Roosegaarde’s projects over the years. From sustainable dance floors to beautiful, futuristic architecture, Studio Roosegaarde has been at the forefront of a new design culture making waves throughout the world – one which fits into our ever-growing sci-fi-oriented future.

Following suit from previous projects, their latest promises to not only re-design our roads – from bike pathways to highways – but subsequently re-define them insofar to how we interact with them. Say hello to Van Gogh Path!

The Van Gogh bicycle path is the design lab’s second subset of their Smart Highway project, which aims to use modern day technologies to help create safer and more efficient roads, whether they’re for car drivers or bicyclers. Using an unnamed innovative technology designed by European construction service Heijmans Infrastructure, the bicycle path charges during the day and then illuminates at night as it stretches across Nuenen, NL – the birthplace of Vincent van Gogh.

Alongside the Van Gogh bicycle path, Studio Roosegaarde have also developed Glowing Lines, which integrates similar technology as that of the Van Gogh, but instead uses glowing lines which wrap around roads and highways for drivers to maintain eye contact with the road at night. International integration is in the works, as are other ideas from its overall Smart Highway project, from smart road signs to lights which only illuminate at your given presence.

Photo Credit: Studio Roosegaarde