"THE ARCHITECTURE OF NATURAL LIGHT" by Henry Plummer, Laureate of The Daylight Award 2020
Summary
TLDRThis script explores the transformative power of natural light in architecture, illustrating how light brings buildings to life, influencing mood and perception. It delves into the historical and modern approaches to utilizing light, from the emotional impact of light in darkness to the practical use of glass for openness. The script highlights architects' efforts to control and manipulate light to create atmospheric spaces that evoke wonder and elevate the ordinary to the extraordinary.
Takeaways
- 🏛️ Buildings, despite being physically static, can perceptually transform through the movement of natural light, displaying signs of life as light interacts with their spaces.
- 🌞 The mood of objects within a building is influenced by the natural light, which can change with the weather or the time of day.
- 🔦 Shadows are portrayed as a tangible presence that can vary in depth and sharpness depending on how they are cast or settle in the space.
- 🌠 The visual attraction of light, such as a light at the end of a tunnel or a lamp at night, has a strong emotional impact and energizes the space.
- 🎨 Light has the power to transform architectural spaces, creating a sense of movement and depth, as seen in the examples of baroque domes and zen temples.
- 🌟 The experience of light and darkness is a primal image that transcends immediate memory and provides a deep emotional encounter with light.
- 🏢 The practical value of large areas of clear glass, made possible by industrial production, has led to a state of openness and lucidity in architecture.
- 🌬️ Italo Calvino's thoughts on lightness through the subtraction of weight to dissolve solidity resonate with the idea of atomizing things, as seen in Lucretius' poetry.
- 🏗️ Modern architecture has sought to permeate buildings with natural light and fresh air, promoting health and expressing the openness and mobility of the modern age.
- 🛠️ Pioneers in architecture like Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto, and Hermann Hertzberger have explored innovative ways to maximize natural light beyond traditional glazing methods.
- 💡 The manipulation of materials to increase their sensitivity to light has historically been used to render buildings luminous, enhancing their beauty and sense of aliveness.
Q & A
How do buildings transform perceptually with the changes in natural light?
-Buildings perceptually transform through the movement and registration of natural light, as beams of light entering rooms or gliding over walls can stir what would otherwise be static volumes, giving them a sense of life and mood.
What role do shadows play in the architectural experience of light?
-Shadows are a palpable presence in architecture; they can thin or deepen, soften or sharpen, depending on how they are cast onto walls or settle in space, adding depth and mood to the environment.
How do visual attractions like 'the light at the end of the tunnel' affect space?
-Visual attractions electrify space with strong perceptual and emotional forces, creating a sense of allure and connection to the environment.
What is the significance of the loss and recovery of light in darkness according to Gaston Bachelard?
-The loss and recovery of light in darkness is a primal image that transcends immediate memory and provides a deep, felt encounter with light, amplifying the emotional response to architectural spaces.
How does the use of glass and transparency influence architectural design?
-The interplay of glass and transparency has been a significant focus in architectural design over the past century, allowing for openness, lucidity, and the conveyance of the healthful benefits of nature into buildings.
What does Italo Calvino suggest about the virtues of lightness in architecture?
-Italo Calvino suggests that lightness in architecture, achieved by subtracting weight, can dissolve the solidity of the world, creating a sense of openness and mobility that characterizes the modern age.
How do architects manipulate natural light to create a spirit of place?
-Architects manipulate natural light to create a spirit of place by not just illuminating form, but by creating an overall atmosphere that bathes every object in the field of vision, affecting the sensibility directly.
What is the effect of light on materials in architecture?
-Light can penetrate matter and temporarily produce an inward glow, transforming otherwise mute objects and dull materials, making them shine with elevated beauty and a sense of being more fully alive.
How have pioneers like Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, and Alvar Aalto explored the use of natural light in architecture?
-These pioneers explored the morphology of open form, going beyond conventional solutions to maximize light by expanding the size and proportion of glazing in building envelopes, aiming to permeate buildings with natural light and fresh air.
What is the concept of 'weightless being' in relation to light in architecture?
-The concept of 'weightless being' refers to the idea that light is not just refracted but splintered and pulverized, creating an effect of lightness and transparency that contributes to the overall atmosphere of a space.
How does the manipulation of materials contribute to the luminosity of buildings?
-The manipulation of materials to increase their sensitivity to light can render buildings luminous, enhancing the architectural experience and creating a sense of wonder and beauty.
Outlines
🏙️ The Life of Light in Architecture
This paragraph discusses the dynamic nature of buildings as they interact with natural light, transforming their appearance throughout the day. It highlights how light brings mood and life to static structures, with shadows and beams creating a visual language that changes with the weather or time of day. The script also touches on the emotional and psychological impact of light, using metaphors like the 'light at the end of the tunnel' to illustrate its power. The paragraph concludes with a reference to Gaston Bachelard's primal image of light, emphasizing the profound connection between humans and the experience of light in darkness and recovery.
🌞 The Role of Light and Glass in Modern Architecture
The second paragraph delves into the practical and aesthetic significance of light and glass in modern architecture. It references the Roman poet Lucretius to describe the subtle ways light interacts with dust and spider webs, symbolizing the weightless quality of light. The paragraph discusses the efforts of modern architects to integrate natural light and air into buildings for health and openness, mentioning pioneers like Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto, and Hermann Hertzberger. It also explores the concept of 'lightness' as described by Italo Calvino, relating it to the dissolution of the world's solidity. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the transformative power of light in architecture, its ability to create atmosphere, and the historical use of materials to enhance light sensitivity, ultimately contributing to the buildings' luminosity and vitality.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Natural Light
💡Perceptual Transformation
💡Moods of Light
💡Shadows
💡Light at the End of the Tunnel
💡Gaston Bachelard
💡Baroque Dome
💡Zen Temple
💡Glass and Transparency
💡Italo Calvino
💡Open Form
💡Spirit of Place
💡Mesmerizing Power of Light
Highlights
Buildings can perceptually transform through the changes and movements of natural light.
Light brings life to deadened volumes, affecting the mood of spaces.
Shadows are a palpable presence, changing according to how they are cast.
Light exerts a strong perceptual and emotional force, attracting and electrifying space.
Gaston Bachelard's primal image of light transcends memory and provides a deep encounter with light.
The interplay of light and darkness amplifies architectural features and spaces.
The flicker of light in spaces like arcades or shrines creates a mesmerizing effect.
Architectural light has been influenced by the practical value of large areas of clear glass.
Italo Calvino's thoughts on lightness and the dissolution of solidity in architecture.
Lucretius' poem describes the atomizing effect of light on dust and spider webs.
Modern architecture aims to permeate buildings with natural light for health and openness.
Pioneers like Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier expanded the use of glass in architecture.
Natural light creates a spirit of place and mood within a building.
Light can create an overall atmosphere that is vibrant and modulated.
Light's ability to penetrate matter produces an inward glow and intensity of being.
Light transforms objects and materials, elevating their beauty and sense of aliveness.
Historically, buildings have been made luminous through material manipulation for light sensitivity.
Transcripts
[Music]
while
buildings may be physically static their
ability to register
changes and movements of natural light
allow them to perceptually transform and
display
signs of life
deadened volumes begin to stir when
beams of light
pierce into rooms or glide over walls
[Music]
mute objects take on moods derived from
the weather or hour of day
[Music]
shadows appear as a palpable presence
and thin
or deepen soften or sharpen
according to how they are cast onto
walls or settle in space
[Music]
[Music]
the proverbial light at the end of the
tunnel
or lamp in the window at night
both exert a visual attraction and
electrify space with strong
perceptual and emotional forces
[Music]
underlying this charge is one of gaston
bachelor's most entrancing
primal images which transcends our own
immediate memory
and provides what is perhaps the deepest
felt encounter with light
known to people
[Music]
the loss and then the recovery
of light in darkness
this psychic condition amplifies the
upward tug
of a baroque dome the horizontal year of
a medieval axe
the downward draw of white sand in a zen
temple
[Music]
the mesmerizing flicker of a skylit
arcade
or shinto shrine and the relief of
emerging from a
dim alley
into a sunny italian piazza
[Music]
no aspect of architectural light has
received
more attention over the past century
than the interplay of glass
and transparency
a phenomenon pursued along two quite
different
yet often overlapping models of thought
and optical experience
of predominant interest has been the
practical value of large areas of clear
glass
made possible by industrial production
and resulting in a state of openness
and lucidity
in his thoughts about the virtues of
lightness attained by
subtraction of weight in order to
dissolve the solidity of the world
italo calvino finds a paradigm for this
notion
in the words of poets devoted to the
atomizing of things
among these is dirirumnathura
by the roman poet and philosopher
lucretius
which includes such descriptions as
little moats of dust
swirling in a shaft of sunlight in a
dark room
and spider webs that wrap themselves
around us without
our noticing them as we walk along
within this model of weightless being
light is not by refraction
but by the splintering and pulverizing
of its roots
the revolutionary attempts of modern
architecture to permeate buildings with
natural
light and fresh air aim to convey the
healthful benefits of nature
to as many rooms as possible but also
expressed an openness and mobility that
characterize the age
in exploring the morphology of open form
pioneers such as frank lloyd wright le
corbusier
alvar alto and later hermann herzberger
went beyond the conventional solution of
maximizing light by expanding the size
and proportion of glazing
in building envelopes
for centuries architects have tried to
grasp
and better control the elusive ability
of
natural light to create its own spirit
of place
when imbuing a building with mood
a light of this kind does not merely
illuminate
form or episodically dazzle the eye
but creates an overall atmosphere whose
phenomena
have become so intimately linked that
they blend
into a radiant hole vibrant
with modulations the result
is an ambience that bathes every object
in one's field of vision
and whose unity of impression and total
effect
are grasped by the eye at a single
glance
directly affecting the sensibility
independent of logic
the capacity of light to penetrate
matter
and temporarily produce an inward glow
an intensity of being a timeless source
of human wonder
at such moments light exerts a
mesmerizing
even miraculous power to transform
otherwise mute objects and dull
materials
and make them shine with an elevated
beauty
and sense of being more fully alive
throughout history we find examples of
buildings being
rendered luminous by the manipulation of
materials
to increase their sensitivity to light
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