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Designing with Light: A Studio Investigation
Sandy Stannard
University of Idaho
Background
Every architectural form, every building or group of buildings, regardless of the practical purpose or expressive need that formed it ?stability, comfort, economy, or symbolic meaning ?is a visible form built from differences of light qualities, created by different hues, textures, opacities, and transparencies of its materials. Without our perception of these patterns of light, our distance sense, our appreciation of the qualities of our wider space would completely disappear and our space would shrink to the reach of our fingertips.
1)
Light and shadow are the primary means by which we perceive and understand the world around us. In architecture, space is defined and comprehended by our perception of light and shadow. At the same time, light and shadow are appreciated and understood as they intertwine with architectural form. Louis Kahn wrote: ?The sun does not realize how wonderful it is until after a room is made. A man?s creation, the making of a room, is nothing short of a miracle. Just think, that a man can claim a slice of the sun.
2) With an understanding of the mutual dependence of light, shadow, and architectural form, the manipulation of these elements to create space was the intent behind the ?Space and Light? multi-level, multi-disciplinary design studio. The University of Idaho is located in a unique geographic area of northern Idaho known as ?the Palouse.? To live surrounded by the rolling hills and big sky of the Palouse is to have the opportunity to observe continuously changing natural light. The ?Space and Light? studio attempted to raise students? awareness of the drama of environmental light and to develop a sensitivity to both the diurnal and seasonal changes of light. As makers of designed environments, students began to explore both natural as well as electric methods and means to bring the power of this light into designed settings.
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