Road to Light

With the lack of road infrastructure and electricity in the mountainous topography of rural China, getting to school can be a very dangerous task for children – especially when coming home from school in the dark. By introducing a small amount of inexpensive fluorite to the pathways, the bright colours of the stones will glow for several hours at night when irradiated by daylight during the day. Almost all provinces in China have large fluorite mines and the coarse processing of the raw stone into pavement material makes is economically feasible for poor rural areas.

The project stems from a very basic need for safe passage between communities. The idea to build pathways made of fluorescent stones is as simple as it is realisable. Other projects have worked with applications, materials and beacons that can be charged during daytime for emergency situations or for finding your way at night – but the jury finds this case to be very well researched and presented, a project that thoroughly addresses a real problem and presents a simple and practical solution.