AUTUMN 2005 ISSUE 01 DAYLIGHT & ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE BY VARIETIES VELUX 10 EURO Diversity is not the same as abundance, which can indeed be very DISCOURSE arbitrary. Diversity implies more: it also comprises unity. And unity implies more than restriction to a single unit. Unity can only be perceived in diversity; without it diversity BY cannot exist. The many folds of a single garment are an image that gives visual expression to this concept. GÜNTER The world we live in is monotonous? This is hard to believe. It is more likely that the way it is perceived is monotonous and that BEHNISCH it is made monotonous. Diversity is obscured by a single consid- eration or a small number of them: for example, returns on money invested, or quite simply the way the system works. The archi- tect who allows himself to be influenced primarily by these con- siderations and who disregards the many other aspects will produce monotonous work. Such interests which are indeed powerful, and often monu- mental, hardly need much promotion from us: their claims are powerfully represented by other parties. There are other consid- erations that are in need of our commitment: ecology, for exam- ple; our fellow-men, children, people, working methods, communal living and many others. We can uncover and investigate as many as possible of the almost unlimited number of facets of a brief – that we receive in the deceptive guise of a single concept, such as a hospital – facets that otherwise remain unrepresented. We are in a position to enable hidden forces, neglected in the reality of our society, to find expression and to assume their visible form. The more such aspects we can identify, the more richness we will recognise in the brief and the greater the diversity of the resultant architectural form. Additional techniques of harmoni- sation – be they mathematical, geometrical, formal or of any other type – become superfluous. Architecture assumes a special qual- ity if it is constantly new, different and many-sided, or if it can never be definitively understood or interpreted: architecture as the mirror of the diversity inherent in our environment and as the reflection of our concern for it. Read more about Günter Behnisch’s archi- tecture in Daylighting: Berlin Academy of Arts, starting on page 18. 1 VELUX EDITORIAL The focus on daylight in architecture is high and concept and the products. By doing this, he laid the DAYLIGHTING rising. In this respect, VELUX wants to play a role cornerstone of the strategy that we pursue today: BERLIN ACADEMY by contributing and stimulating issues that lead to engage in have dedicated dialogue with profes- WELCOME TO to better living environments. As an international sionals about daylight, and to seek and strengthen OF ARTS DAYLIGHT & ARCHITECTURE manufacturer of roof windows and skylight sys- the architectural relevance of our products. We see MAGAZINE BY VELUX tems, it is important for us constantly to seek our daily business as being closely linked to build- and strengthen the relevance of our products in ing design, with the overall objective of focussing architecture. We would like to enhance and en- on daylight and fresh air as providers of better liv- courage the role of daylight in design prioritising. ing conditions in people’s everyday lives. Great art behind a plain glass façade: for a long This focus is our platform for building and nurtur- This objective is the platform from which we time, no building has been so controversely dis- ing relations with the building sector – not least present “Daylight & Architecture”. cussed in Germany as the new Berlin Academy of with architects. In this magazine – and in the issues to come – Arts designed by Günter Behnisch. Now the scaf- Our founder, Villum Kann Rasmussen invented we will strive to raise topics and present views and folding has gone, the virtuoso daylight design of the roof window in 1942. He called his company angles about the past, present and future of archi- the German master is revealed, as well as the spa- by the short name of VELUX, an acronym of VEn- tecture with daylight and fresh air. This will pro- 14 tial diversity of the building which originates in his tilation and the Latin word for light, LUX. Part of vide a platform for dialogue between professionals averseness to anything that is monumental. Villum Kann Rasmussen’s original vision was to in which we will raise questions rather than give create good cheap square metres of living space standard answers and statements and thereby in- under pitched roofs by letting light into the attic spire and facilitate the discourse on architecture, REFLECTIONS at a time when living space was in shortage. In the especially daylight. SEEING early years of VELUX much time was spent with Enjoy the read and please visit www.VELUX. YOURSELF architects and other trendsetters to present the com/DA for further inspiration and information. SEEING Olafur Eliasson is often labelled a light artist, but the Dane, born in 1967, seeks to go further than the AUTUMN 2005 CONTENTS interplay of daylight and artificial light, light col- ISSUE 01 ours and reflections. In his multifaceted installa- 26 tions, he invites the observer to question his own perceptions and ‘to see himself seeing’. 1 Discourse by Günter Behnisch NOW VELUX INSIGHT 2 VELUX Editorial TOWARDS THE SUN 3 Contents 4 Now ARMADA 8 Mankind and architecture Glass in architecture 14 Daylighting Berlin Academy of Arts 26 Reflections Four reasons to praise the residential build- Seeing yourself seeing Variations of daylight: Olafur Eliasson has de- ing project realised by British architectural firm 32 European Light signed three light sculptures for the new opera Building Design Partnership in s’Hertogenbosch: Österlen, Sweden house in Copenhagen. An exhibition of Peter Ei- it gives the city back its former industrial quar- 36 Daylighting details senman’s work is on display at the MAK E xhibition ter, provides living space for a wide range of uses, Glass as a structural material Hall in Vienna and Berlin is hosting an event for Eu- combines public and private areas in close proxim- 40 VELUX Insight 4 ropean lighting designers . Also: t ables that glow in 40 ity and creates a feeling of identification for resi- Towards the sun the dark – without electricity. dents with its diversified form. 48 VELUX Panorama Light catcher Houses by the village green MANKIND VELUX PANORAMA Black and slender AND ARCHITECTURE Building with nature GLASS IN 57 VELUX Dialogue ARCHITECTURE Claes Cho Heske Ekornås 60 Books Reviews Recommendations 64 Preview A narrow tower house in the Swiss Alps. A house Glass was once a sign of luxury, a medium for Chris- with a panoramic view at the foot of the Pyrenees. tian teachings, a symbol of progress and proof of And an estate of terraced houses in Denmark in a democratic attitude. It has fascinated artists which children were not really wanted – but then and architects alike for more than 3,500 years. moved in. What do they have in common? Their 8 Michael Wigginton chronicles the history of a manifold relations to the exterior and the fantastic 48 50 material that is as diverse as architecture itself. daylighting of the interiors via roof windows. 2 D&A AUTUMN 2005 ISSUE 01 3 VELUX EDITORIAL The focus on daylight in architecture is high and concept and the products. By doing this, he laid the DAYLIGHTING rising. In this respect, VELUX wants to play a role cornerstone of the strategy that we pursue today: BERLIN ACADEMY by contributing and stimulating issues that lead to engage in have dedicated dialogue with profes- WELCOME TO to better living environments. As an international sionals about daylight, and to seek and strengthen OF ARTS DAYLIGHT & ARCHITECTURE manufacturer of roof windows and skylight sys- the architectural relevance of our products. We see MAGAZINE BY VELUX tems, it is important for us constantly to seek our daily business as being closely linked to build- and strengthen the relevance of our products in ing design, with the overall objective of focussing architecture. We would like to enhance and en- on daylight and fresh air as providers of better liv- courage the role of daylight in design prioritising. ing conditions in people’s everyday lives. Great art behind a plain glass façade: for a long This focus is our platform for building and nurtur- This objective is the platform from which we time, no building has been so controversely dis- ing relations with the building sector – not least present “Daylight & Architecture”. cussed in Germany as the new Berlin Academy of with architects. In this magazine – and in the issues to come – Arts designed by Günter Behnisch. Now the scaf- Our founder, Villum Kann Rasmussen invented we will strive to raise topics and present views and folding has gone, the virtuoso daylight design of the roof window in 1942. He called his company angles about the past, present and future of archi- the German master is revealed, as well as the spa- by the short name of VELUX, an acronym of VEn- tecture with daylight and fresh air. This will pro- 14 tial diversity of the building which originates in his tilation and the Latin word for light, LUX. Part of vide a platform for dialogue between professionals averseness to anything that is monumental. Villum Kann Rasmussen’s original vision was to in which we will raise questions rather than give create good cheap square metres of living space standard answers and statements and thereby in- under pitched roofs by letting light into the attic spire and facilitate the discourse on architecture, REFLECTIONS at a time when living space was in shortage.