Light is part of various disciplines, shaping the world as we know it. In physics, it serves as a measure of speed and makes vision, and the recording of images by the eye and camera lens possible. Throughout art history, the representation of light - or its absence - has guided secular movements in various manifestations with equally different techniques and supports. This means that light - and its derivative shadow - can create environments, atmospheres and sensations, which can be perceived in objects and spaces. Light is also a part of architecture.
Luigi Ghirri wrote that light modifies architecture's appearance and meaning. Often, the drawings or contrasts between light and shadow make the images more striking. These images, frozen on paper, invite long gazes, interpretations and meanings. Indeed, light incidence on a building can transform it. And, taking advantage of the sun's natural movement, different ambiances can be created for the same project. Along with the occupant's movement through space, light and shadow can reveal many constructions within the same building.
If the world takes shape thanks to light incidence on objects, taking advantage of formal architectural elements to highlight or frame certain angles is a way to enhance a construction. In the MNMA studio's renovation of the Selo Store, the construction is austere - in contrast to the metropolitan environment. Internally, the space is full of recesses and sections. This creates a strongly geometric atmosphere and establishes entrances and corners to explore different lighting sources. The entrance and light sources are punctual, but the overall look is subtle and diffuse. The store shapes are "washed" by the light, and enhanced for the same reason.
The use of geometry combined with lighting has a completely different effect on the Rombo IV residence. Miguel Angel Aragonés uses artificial and colorful lighting to drastically transform the built environment. While there is natural lighting, the rooms have a calm and sober atmosphere. In its absence, the architect uses colored lights, which modify the occupant's sensation, making it more energetic. They also transform the serene environment of a few hours ago into an unreal and ethereal setting. This is reminiscent of Carlos Cruz-Diez's Cromosaturações.
Geometry can be used to draw patterns in space. Pergolas, sheds, mashrabiya, and cobogós serve as functional enclosures in buildings, attenuating light and guaranteeing privacy without stopping ventilation. They also create luminous textures and movable designs in environments. It would be like drawing a lively hatching line, without graphite, on a support other than paper.
Oaxaca's Historical Archive Building uses these elements to ensure the incidence of natural light while maintaining cross ventilation in the complex. The Mendaro Arquitectos office takes advantage of Oaxaquea architecture tradition and its play of light and shadow to create dramatic and regular marks on the ensemble. These marks certainly transform the routes, creating luminous forms on walls and floors, giving dynamism to a mere corridor or blank wall.
José Ignacio Valdivieso uses the same principle in the Gardeners' Pavilion at Club Hípico de Santiago. The rest area for the Club's gardeners could be treated differently, but the architect transforms a simple shelter into a game of grids. The walls of perforated bricks emulate the tree shadow that protected gardeners from the sun before the pavilion was constructed. However, as the floor and walls are composed of bricks with the same dimensions, the small building can be read as a squared volume on which another grid is drawn - which is projected by the light filtered through the perforated bricks - which may or may not coincide with the existing grids. It is an immaterial drawing.
Solar movement generates luminous projections throughout the day. This dynamic alone has a significant impact on the environment. However, project elements can also move in a way that produces different light and shadow designs. This was the STILL YOUNG group's decision for the ARC'TERYX Store. The group did not necessarily plan the solar incidence in the building, but let the light randomly create lines. As the furniture is pivotable, any difference in the opening angle can generate another design.
Light and its daily trajectory also serve as temporal measures. Once again, light is constitutive of routine and our relationship with the world, giving it shape and periodicity. Civil Architecture has used this premise in designing the installation Sun Path, Rajab to Shawwal 1444, for the Islamic Arts Biennale 2023. What is interesting is not just the reference to mosque sundials, which indicate the time of daily prayers. Instead of indicating the time through shadows, the installation is fitted with a perforated canopy that shades the whole and points to the time with light. There is a different sense of temporality than digital clock precision. The passage from one hour to another is more gradual, and the beam of light brings historic moments in Islamic history into focus. Light transforms the place and locates it temporally.
The creative possibilities of this interplay of light, forms, and shadows can be explored in various ways, in different projects. The relationship between architecture and light has existed since the discipline itself. The way each element of the design - material or immaterial - contributes to the whole can extend the range of sensations it causes.
This article is part of the ArchDaily Topics: Light in Architecture, proudly presented by Vitrocsa the original minimalist windows since 1992.
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