THE ARCHITECTURE OF

Mountain Village Residence, Design by Robert Singer & Associates

“Having a vision for what you want is Finally we have the play of brilliants principles of illumination. He saw a not enough...Vision without execution which entertains the eye and stimulates need to improve architectural light to is hallucination.” ~Thomas Edison the body and spirit. It can be both exiting improve the perception and experi- Light is the principle mode through and distracting, awakening curiosity and ence of our surroundings. It is difficult which we experience architecture and quickening the appetite. to imagine what architectural lighting the designed environment. It is the key “Play of brilliants is Times Square at would look like today without his last- element that defines space. Lighting night.” ~Richard Kelly ing contribution. is both an art and a science, demand- The art of lighting design can be imag- “They always say time changes things, ing a trained eye and the knowledge ined like a painter. Like layers in a paint- but you actually have to change them of physical techniques to achieve its ing, first major highlights are visualized, yourself.” ~Andy Warhol magic. then you add graded washes of varying Richard Kelly’s three elements of light luminosity, and finally the sharp details impacts are still used today as the de- to dazzle the eye. sign for modern architectural lighting. A pioneer of architectural lighting, Rich- It is the artful control of focal glow, ard Kelly illuminated some of the twenti- ambient luminescence, and play of eth century’s most iconic buildings such brilliants that make it easier to see, as, the Glass House, Seagram Build- make safer surroundings, and stimu- ing and Kimbell Art Museum. His de- late the spirit. sign strategy was simple and effective, “Focal glow is the of all time.” yet revolutionary for his time and has ~Richard Kelly strongly influenced modern architecture. The first layer of light is focal glow, He transformed lighting design into a re- which draws attention. Where that spected profession. light is focused determines what is In 1958, Richard Kelly wrote: “Lighting is important. There can be a number of such a large part of the visual arts–ar- focal points increasing the attention of chitecture, most of all–that I’m sure the the composition. best we can do today will be inadequate Ambient luminescence, the second tomorrow. I can logically project a great basic element of light, produces shad- many techniques in lighting to improve owless illumination. It consists of people’s lives or to make a house more graded washes suggesting freedom of beautiful, but it’s all theory until we have space. Minimizing form and bulk, it is the record of experience, which we are restful and reassuring. only beginning to write.” “Ambient luminescence is the uninter- Kelly’s principles of light energy impact rupted light of a snowy morning in the have stood the test of time. He was not open country.” ~Richard Kelly only interested in light and its sensory experience, but in the application of his By Robert Singer, IALD, IES, President RSA