Architecture of Light

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Architecture of Light The Architecture of Light How architects have spoken about and worked with natural light since electricity has become an alternative light source in buildings is the subject of this book. Not only does the book argue that natural light remains a fundamentally import- ant source of orientation in architecture, but it underlines how and why the art of daylighting imposes creative discipline on design. Examining a series of twentieth-century projects whose architects have a particular interest in light and window design, the book gives careful attention to the way in which words and practice in natural light are intercon- nected. In the process a number of key influences are revealed including the significance of Le Corbusier’s written and built oeuvre for subsequent thinking. The book underlines how ambitions for light have been arrived at not only through reference to relevant precedents but an approach to context that sees light as a critical aspect of place. A willingness to treat natural light seriously has prompted imagin- ative and resonant design approaches for a wide range of building types and contexts. In demonstrating such thinking, this sourcebook looks at climates of light as diverse as those of northern Europe and central Chile, eastern Australia and northern Portugal. Its overall argument is that a sensitive approach to day- lighting not only remains a complex yet ultimately rewarding endeavour but a fundamental if under-appreciated aspect of the ‘practical art’ of architecture. Mary Ann Steane is an architect and a lecturer at the University of Cambridge. Her research on the use of natural light marries an understanding of light- ing design principles with a broader cultural perspective. She examines how architects handle the relationship between light, material and the occupation of space, looking closely at the way in which these factors affect perception of and attunement to the visual environment. The Architecture of Light Recent approaches to designing with natural light Mary Ann Steane First published 2011 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2011 Mary Ann Steane The right of Mary Ann Steane to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Typeset in Univers by All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Steane, Mary Ann. The architecture of light : recent approaches to designing with natural light / Mary Ann Steane. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Light in architecture. 2. Lighting, Architectural and decorative. I. Title. II. Title: Recent approaches to designing with natural light. NA2794.S74 2011 729’.28--dc22 2010041747 Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN13: 978- 0-415- 39478- 9 (hbk) ISBN13: 978- 0-415- 39479- 6 (pbk) Contents Illustration credits vi Acknowledgements viii Introduction: Daylighting in the era of electricity 1 1 Speaking of light, speaking with light: Le Corbusier’s ‘carnets de recherche patiente’, Une Petite Maison and La Chapelle de Ronchamp 9 2 Desert tent: Light and geometry in the church of the Benedictine Monastery of the Holy Trinity, Las Condes, Santiago de Chile 35 3 Deciding the colouring of things: Scarpa’s Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice 57 4 Reading light at Seinajoki, Finland, and Viana do Castelo, Portugal: Aalto’s and Siza’s conspicuous conservation of daylight 77 5 Enlightening conversation: The Music Room and the Open City, Ritoque, Chile 105 6 Seeing the light: The Poole House, Lake Weyba, Queensland 131 James Bichard, ed. Mary Ann Steane 7 O’Donnell and Tuomey’s lessons in the history and geography of light: The Ranelagh Multi- Denominational School, Dublin, 1998 151 8 Inverse light? The vulnerable openings of Libeskind’s Jewish Museum, Berlin 171 9 New light for old across London: Recent interventions at the Carmelite Priory, Kensington, by Niall McLaughlin, and at 1A John Campbell Road, Hackney, by Lisa Shell 193 10 The electricity of daylight? Herzog and De Meuron’s excavation of dusk at London’s Bankside Power Station, 1998–2000 221 Index 243 Illustration credits The authors and publishers gratefully acknowledge the following for their permis- sion to reproduce material in this book. Every effort has been made to contact and acknowledge copyright owners. The publishers would be grateful to hear from any copyright holder who is not acknowledged here and will undertake to rectify any errors or omissions in future printings or editions of the book. Archivo Histórico José Vial PUCV 2.7, 2.8, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.8, 5.9, 5.10, 5.11, 5.12, 5.14, 5.17, 5.18, 5.23 Archive of the Benedictine Monastery of Las Condes 2.5, 2.6 Kate Baker 5.13 Mike Baker/Anne Dye 4.1, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 4.11, 4.12, 4.13, 4.15 José Baltanas and FLC/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 1.2, 1.3 Max Beckenbauer 1.1, 1.8, 1.10, 1.12, 1.19, 3.6, 4.6, 4.7, 4.21, 4.22, 5.4, 6.9, 6.10. 6.11, 8.3, 10.1, 10.2 Noah Carl 10.6, 10.18 Bettmann/Corbis and FLC/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 1.14 James Bichard 6.6, 6.19 Reiner Blunck 6.7, 6.13, 6.14, 6.15, 6.16, 6.17, 6.18, 6.20 Simon Blunden 3.5 Bitter Bredt 8.5, 8.6, 8.15, 8.18, 8.20 Holger Ellgaard 4.5 FLC/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 1.4, 1.11, 1.13, 1.16, 1.18, 1.20, 1.21 National Gallery of Ireland 7.3 Dennis Gilbert 7.16, 7.17, 7.18, 7.19, 7.21 P. Gross and E. Vial 2.2, 2.3, 2.10 Max Gwiazda 8.4, 8.8, 8.10, 8.12 Wade Johanson 6.4 Hamburg Kunsthalle 4.4 Dean Hawkes 3.1 Sarah Honeyball 7.12, 7.13, 7.20, 7.22, 7.23 Soane Museum 9.2 Jeffery Howe 0.1 Niall MLaughlin Architects 9.5, 9.6, 9.7, 9.8, 9.9, 9.10, 9.11, 9.12, 9.13 George Middleton-Baker 8.17, 8.19, 8.21 Illustration credits Tomas Mikulas, École Athenaeum, Lausanne and FLC/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 1.5, 1.6 Michele Nastesi 8.11, 8.13, Fernando Perez 2.18 O’Donnell and Tuomey Architects 7.5, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9, 7.10, 7.14 Gabriel Poole 6.12 Gunter Schneider 8.1 Patrick and Maura Shaffrey (Irish Countryside Buildings, O’Brien Press Ltd., Dublin) 7.9 Lisa Shell Architects 9.3, 9.17, 9.18, 9.16, 9.19, 9.20, 9.21, 9.22, 9.25 David Steane 7.11 Wren Strabuchi 2.4 Studio Daniel Libeskind and Udo Hesse 8.2, 8.9, 8.14 Tate, London, 2010 10.3, 10.5 Alan Worn 3.19 vii Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge the help that a large number of people have given me during the course of this project. First of all I would like to express my thanks to the University of Cambridge Centre of Latin American Studies who awarded me a grant to cover the costs of a study trip to Chile in 2006 to look at buildings in and around Santiago and Valparaiso, and to the AHRC, who funded a research project entitled ‘Designing with Light in Libraries’ that enabled trips to Finland to carry out detailed photographic studies of the public library at Seinajoki. I am also indebted to my publisher Georgina Johnson for her patience and guidance in bringing this project to a conclusion. Many individuals have also gone to great lengths to help me access buildings and to contact architects, and sometimes even to translate the inter- views I held to discuss the ideas about light represented by a particular project. In this regard I am particularly grateful to Wren Strabuchi and Fernando Perez of the School of Architecture at the Catholic University of Santiago and to David Jolly, Miguel Eyquem and Alberto Cruz of the School of Art and Design at the Catholic University of Valparaiso, both for their generous hospitality during my time in Chile, and rapid response to subsequent queries. Luis Urbano who organized the 2008 study trip to look at contemporary architecture near Porto which introduced me to the work of Alvaro Siza, including his library at Viana do Castelo, is another colleague whose thoughtful reactions to conversation about light I have built on subsequently. I would like to thank all the living architects whose work is discussed here. Sadly, I have not had the opportunity to meet all of them in person, though several have proved to be excellent email correspondents, Gabriel Poole in particular. Among those I have met, I owe a particular debt to Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey who not only showed me round their Multi- Denominational School in Dublin but arranged for me to visit other projects of theirs further afield; Brother Martin Correa who twice welcomed me to the Benedictine Monastery at Las Condes, Santiago; Lisa Shell, who moved out so I could experience her house by myself for a night; Niall McLaughlin, whose perceptive comments at student reviews, and during an interview carried out by one of my students stimulated my initial ideas for the book; and Tarla MacGabhann, whose enthusi- astic response to the text of my chapter on the Jewish Museum in Berlin was a welcome confirmation that others might be interested in the subject of the book.
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