Then God said, Let there be light, and there was light.

God saw how good the light was. Genesis 1:1-5.

ABSTRACT
The visual and psychological impact of architectural space can be perceptually altered through the integration of artificial (electric) lighting within the built environment. Artificial light has had a tremendous impact on the way in which architecture has been redefined and expressed. Its ability to define, manipulate, distort and create architectural space is the focus of this thesis. By drawing upon historical as well as contemporary examples this thesis demonstrates how artificial light - through its ethereal quality - visually and psychologically affects the tangible qualities of architectural form. The objective of the project is to combine artificial light with structural materials in such a way that the more traditional architectural elements take on a subservient role, allowing the light to become the essence and focal point of the space. The intent is to juxtapose the ephemeral qualities of light with the tangible materials of the site and structures, thus bringing the duality into one experience. Specifically the challenge of this project is to manipulate light so that the ethereal qualities of the light have as much presence and visual weight as the structural elements used within the building. The design intent is to create a Community Action Resource Center on the south lawn of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center on the Cincinnati riverfront which works in conjunction with the Freedom Center and its values. By manipulating artificial light the project goal is to create a structure that becomes a literal and symbolic beacon as the Action Resource Center, for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the overall Greater Cincinnati community.

INTRODUCTION
Chapter one will briefly touch upon prehistoric references to artificial light and suggest that prehistoric mans ability to manipulate fire enabled him to penetrate deep within the crevices of the earth, thus establishing one of the earliest accounts of defining and manipulating space. This chapter will also refer to the Lighthouse of Alexandria on the ancient Island of Pharos in order to demonstrate one of the first truly integrated examples of artificial light within architecture. The reference shows the presence of artificial light giving meaning to the architecture. In closing, chapter one will recall an account of the festive illumination of St. Peters Basilica in Rome during the late 18th Century in order to address the notion that artificial light can perceptually alter the presence of architecture and architectural form by effectively reducing the structure to a mere scaffolding for the lights. Chapter two will analyze the visual and psychological dematerialization of architectural elements and architectural space through the varying techniques of incorporating artificial light into the built environment. The primary focus of this chapter is to demonstrate the ways in which the ephemeral qualities of light affect the more tangible properties of traditional architectural elements and materials. This chapter will show how the technique of outlining the edge of architecture and architectural elements will visually reduce the surface and mass of the architecture itself. In addition this chapter will address the physical dematerialization of architectural ornamentation due to the distortion created by floodlighting skyscrapers from below. Finally, this chapter will discuss the full integration of artificial lighting within the form of buildings in order to emphasize the early twentieth century utopian ideals as expressed through modernism and crystal light architecture. Through analysis and photographic examples, chapter three will focus on the phenomenon of architectural duality architecture of the day and architecture of the night as well as architecture of the material and architecture of the immaterial. The intent of this chapter is to reinforce the notion that architecture not only has visual presence during the day, but since the integration of artificial lighting within the fabric of the built environment, it has an equal if not a more dynamic presence during the night. In addition, this chapter will begin to question the possibility that architecture can cross from the realm of the material into the realm of immaterial, ephemeral light architecture. Chapter four of this thesis will posit that artificial light can at least theoretically be regarded as architecture and architectural space. By juxtaposing tangible building elements and materials with more ephemeral and temporal qualities of light, chapter four will question whether lighting, either a single, solitary beam of light controlled in a very definitive manner or a multitude of lights flooding an area, can hold the same distinction as a wall, a column or, perhaps in an extreme scenario, architectural space. Chapter four raises the possibility that artificial lighting can generate a form that will ultimately be accepted as architecture. And if true, is it something that can be actualized today or is it limited not by our imagination but by our current technological capabilities? Finally, chapter five will address the design proposal which is intended to substantiate the notion that the physical structure can take on a more subservient role to that of the lighting technique. The goal of the design is to generate a form that will allow artificial light to create, define and give meaning to a physical tangible architectural space by juxtaposing the ephemeral qualities of light with the tangible materials of the site and structures, thus unifying the dual nature of architecture into one experience. In effect, the role of light within this context extends beyond its scientific definitions and electromagnetic properties, alluding to the inner 2

INTRODUCTION
Historically, all buildings were designed with a single source of light in mind the sun. The beauty and splendor of the space was determined largely by the skill with which natural light was used within the space. The significance and symbolic power of light as it is incorporated within architecture has always been venerated for its ability to penetrate darkness and to create visual space, rhythm, and order. Eventually, the integration of artificial light 1 with architectural spaces began to take on an equally vital role within the overall fabric of the built environment. In this regard, light whether naturally produced by the sun or artificially generated by man defines the way in which humans relate to their surroundings and ultimately to architecture and architectural spaces. According to Dietrich Neumann in Architecture of the Night, No other artistic medium of the twentieth century has crossed the boundaries between art and commerce, technological display and utopian vision, easy entertainment and demagogic politics as effortlessly as this.2 In effect, light in particular artificial light has had a tremendous impact in the way in which architecture and architectural spaces have been redefined and reinterpreted, thus perceptually altering the meaning of architecture. Keeping this in mind, this thesis will demonstrate how the visual and psychological meaning of architecture and architectural space can be perceptually altered through the integration of artificial light within the built environment. By drawing upon historical as well as contemporary examples this thesis will demonstrate how artificial light, through its ethereal quality, perceptually affects and redefines the substantial, tangible qualities of architecture and architectural form.

power, essence and soul of an individual. Keeping this in mind, I would like to create a space where the role of light, in particular artificial light, within the built environment can be symbolic of the Power of One: the power of one thought; one voice; one act; one person. The transformation of the surfaces and textures of the building by the reflection and refraction of light, be it a single focused beam of artificial light or the powerful display of natural light against the surfaces, is symbolic of the transformations we go through when we choose to exercise our voice, our power, our presence. Therefore I am proposing to design an Action Resource Center on the south lawn of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center which works in conjunction with the Freedom Center and its values. Moreover the design will be a structure that becomes a literal and symbolic beacon for the Action Resource Center, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the overall community of the Greater Cincinnati area. Prehistoric Man and Artificial Lighting Light is a powerful icon of spiritual enlightenment in the human psyche. Its relationship to us is deeply rooted and primal. Light gives meaning to darkness and elevates the human spirit to a higher realm. We often define our essence, our soul and our understanding of our place in the universe through the representation of light. The ability to harness light through artificial means has been revered as one of the most powerful endeavors undertaken by mankind. The Greek myth of Prometheus who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man is but one legend of how man acquired fire, a story which is retold in one form or another throughout history. Prometheus, whose name means forethought, took pity on man and went to heaven, to the sun, where he lit a torch and brought down fire, a protection to men far better than anything else, whether fur or feathers or strength or swiftness. And now, though feeble and short-lived, Mankind has flaming fire and therefore learns many crafts.2 According to the legend, Prometheus, through the gift of fire artificial light bestowed upon man the wisdom of the arts and sciences and, in effect, architecture. Although the mythology of Prometheus has been widely recorded, scientists agree that prehistoric man began to use fire as a source of warmth and light, and the knowledge to make fire in due course afforded him a great degree of autonomy over his own environment. Evidence of prehistoric man using artificial light (fire) to control his environment can be seen in the astonishing paintings found within the caves at Altamira, Northern Spain, believed to have been painted sometime between 16,000-9,000 BC. 3 In this example, fire was not only used to generate heat and to cook with but to illuminate the interior of caves so that life deep within the caves would be possible and such paintings could be magnificently produced. The significance of this discovery is that the light generated from the flame enabled prehistoric man to seek shelter from the elements deeper within the crevices of the earth where sunlight could not penetrate, thus linking artificial lighting to the earliest examples of architecture. In addition, the fact that artificial light made it possible for prehistoric man to see within the caves indirectly helped preserve the paintings from the elements for many thousands of years, thus affording modern man the opportunity to reflect upon his own history. The Lighthouse of Alexandria 3

As man moved out of the caves and began to create his own dwellings, the integration of artificial lighting within these structures became a necessity. Regarded as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Lighthouse of Alexandria is perhaps one of the first truly integrated examples of artificial light within architecture. It was during the reign of Alexander the Great that a new city approximately twenty miles west of the Nile delta was formed. Shortly after the death of Alexander, Ptolemy Soter became the new ruler. The city prospered and Ptolemy realized that the city needed a symbolic structure as well as an effective way to safely guide ships into its busy harbor. Ptolemy commissioned Sostrates of Knidos around 270 B.C to build a lighthouse on the ancient island of Pharos. According to historic accounts, the structure was approximately 450 to 600 feet tall, had three distinct stages, each built on top of the other, and was constructed of marble blocks and lead mortar. 4 A lift was constructed within the interior of the structure in order to transport the fuel needed to generate the light. In addition, a large, curved, reflective, mirror was used to project a beam of light from the source out to sea. According to legend, the light that was thrown off the tower at night could be detected up to one hundred miles away. 5 Eventually the name Pharos was given to the new structure. The association between the name and the function of the structure was so strong that the word Pharos ultimately became the root word of lighthouse in several languages. 6 This architecture was intentionally designed to act as a beacon of light whereby ships could safely navigate during the night. Therefore, the primary, if not sole, function and purpose of this structure was to house the light so that others could find comfort and sanctuary with its illumination. Perhaps more than any other type of formal architectural space, a lighthouse has no real meaning and no intrinsic value without the presence of light. The Festival of St. Peters Basilica in Rome In later centuries, as artificial light was utilized as an ornamental feature in architectural designs, it became evident that this integration of lighting perceptually enhanced and altered the architectural form. Between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries many festivals (incorporating fireworks, candles, gas light and in later installations bright electric arc lights) were assembled in order to display the awe-inspiring capabilities of current technologies to illuminate prominent architecture and architectural spaces. One such example was the festive illumination of St. Peters Basilica in Rome, which Johann Wolfgang von Goethe witnessed and later recalled in his (1786-1788) Italian Journey memoirs. Goethe writes, To see the colonnade, the church and the mass, is a unique and glorious experience. When one thinks that, at this moment, the whole enormous building is a mere scaffolding for the lights, one realizes that nothing like it could be seen anywhere else in the world The fireworks were beautiful because of the setting, but they did not compare with the illuminations of the church It seemed entirely like a scene from a fairy tale. To see the beautiful form of the church and its dome as a fiery elevation is a view both grand and charming. 7 Many of these festivals were held regularly, and in the case of St Peters, provisions were made in 1547 to permanently attach candleholders around the dome to facilitate future festivals of illumination. 8 St Peters Basilica was not initially built to incorporate the lights that encircled the massive dome; however, it is an early example of how, by fastening lighting fixtures onto the faade and structure of the building, light was successfully integrated within architecture.

ARTIFICIAL LIGHT + DEMATERIALIZATION

Outlining: Reduction of Mass and Surface Unlike the festive illumination of St Peters Basilica, which was purely decorative in nature, the festivals and exhibitions of the nineteenth century were designed to display tremendous technical advancements in the field of artificial lighting. International Expositions and Worlds 4

Fairs have often provided testing grounds for new and innovative approaches and technologies in the world of architecture and design. And during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century when artificial lighting was taking on a new role within the context of architectural spaces, a great deal of emphasis was placed on the nocturnal appearance of the buildings and structures at Worlds Fairs and International Expositions. In essence, these venues provided a spectacular environment to show off the potential of artificial illumination. The structures became the canvas on which the new technology and desire to create such spectacles could be expressed, particularly at night. The integration and combined use of gas lights, arc lights and Thomas A. Edisons 1879 invention of the incandescent lamp within the structures at the festivals, provided artificial lighting that became a catalyst through which contemporary man could view his built environment. 1 Similar events, such as the 1881 International Electricity Exposition in Paris, the 1882, International Electricity Exposition in Munich and the Southern Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky in 1883, pushed the limits of artificial lighting and dazzled the spectators in a show of lights and architecture. For the first time a lighting engineer, Luther Stieringer, worked in collaboration with architects at the Southern Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky. Stieringers solution to incorporating artificial lighting within the built environment was to trace the form of the building with strings of incandescent bulbs. This simple act of outlining buildings drew the spectators attention to the perimeter of the form, thereby visually accentuating the edges and ultimately minimizing the mass of the structure. In other words, the effect of outlining the structure with lights created glare around the edges, thus visually and perceptually dematerializing the mass and form of the building. Another event that had a tremendous impact on American urban planning with regard to artificial lighting was the 1893 Columbian Exposition. The festival celebrated the 400th anniversary of Columbuss discovery of America and demonstrated to the world Americas cultural and economic growth within the larger global context. Although the intention was to create a utopian urban environment through the City Beautiful movement idealized in the United States, the depiction of the Beaux-Arts Classicism which was manifested in the many domes, arches, and arcades, ironically reflected strong European cultural ideals. Here was an unprecedented collaboration between artists, architects, engineers and the like to create an ideal model city. Dubbed the White City, the underlying theme of the fair was unity and utopia. The style, harmony, color and scale of the White City, which surrounded large reflecting pools, created a homogeneous environment in which the utopian vision of an ideal urban setting could be displayed. This vision was perhaps best seen during the night when the lighting scheme greatly enhanced and magnified the purity of the utopian city. Luther Stieringer was once again commissioned to create the lighting design. Not only did he utilize arc lamps in order to light the streets and pathways, but he also outlined the main architectural features with over 130,000 incandescent lamps. As mentioned above, particularly when links of incandescent lamps were used to accentuate the shape of the building by tracing the outline of the structures, the observers eye was inevitably drawn to the edge of the form, and consequently the main body and faade of the buildings receded into the black of the night. Although this may not have been the intent of the architects and designers, the architecture did take on a secondary role and became the scaffolding on which the lighting fixtures could be anchored. Another technique used in the 1893 Columbian Exposition was to utilize searchlights with color filters in order to wash the facades of the buildings in green, blue, scarlet. One of the main attractions was the Electric Building (Edisons Tower of Light), perhaps the first structure designed specifically for its illuminated appearance at night.2 Edisons Tower of Light, a crystal-capped column which stood eighty-two feet tall, was completely decorated with multicolored lamps that were sequenced to flash on and off in tune with music. In effect, the lighting scheme transformed the White City into a surrealistic and illusive composition of lights, color and fantasy. In describing the effects of the artificial lighting used in the 1893 Columbian Exposition, Walter H Kilham Jr. writes in Raymond Hood, Architect: Form 5

Through Function in the American Skyscraper, With the Chicago Fair of 1893, the whole country was awakened to the possibilities of the new medium that had made a fairyland of the Fair at night.3 Architecture, which had historically been designed to manipulate and be manipulated by natural daylight, now was beginning to have visual presence and impact during the night.4 It is in the exhibitions of the 1880s that complexly manipulated light becomes programmed to constitute what was very nearly a second architectural presence - a veritable architecture of the night - where the lighting literally devised its own grand public space and filled it with its own monumental forms, sometimes cooperating with built architecture, sometimes not.5 Architecture in these festivals now had significant presence and power at night, and its design potential at night was just beginning to be understood. In effect, artificial illumination as it was utilized at the public festivals provided an opportunity to appreciate and understand the dualism of architecture: architecture of the day and architecture of the night. And because of the technological advancements in the field of artificial lighting, architecture could no longer be created solely for its physical, visual and psychological presence during the day. Although this notion will be addressed in greater depth later within the thesis, it is important to acknowledge the fact that architecture during the early twentieth century was beginning to take on an equally prominent and powerful role during the night as it once did only during the day. Expositions, fairs and festivals during the nineteenth century demonstrated fantastic displays of lighting in conjunction with architectural forms. However, it wasnt until the first part of the twentieth century that those lighting techniques were cohesively integrated within the fabric of major industrialized cities. This was because the lighting festivals and displays were temporary as well as revolutionary. Although these festivals provided a fantasy an escape from ones daily life they also began to draw attention to the new phenomena of architecture for the night and the newly realized dualism of architecture.

Floodlighting: Architecture and Advertising The turn of the century opened up a new world of industrialization, and it was during that time when tremendous advances were made, particularly in the world of electricity and artificial lighting. Although the technology was available to artificially illuminate many industrialized cities throughout the world, artificial lighting was for some time strictly used within the context of World Fairs, expositions and festivals. At the time, the primary function of artificial lighting was to create visual and psychological drama to celebrate and emphasize significant political, social and historical sites and events. Initially, festival and exposition lighting did not make a rapid shift into the general fabric of the urban environment, but rather was introduced through commercialization as a means to illuminate advertisements and billboards. Many companies and advertisers realized the economic potential brought about through artificial lighting and capitalized on the opportunity to brightly illuminate their advertisements. Aptly, the first electric sign simply spelled out a single word, Edison. The result was that illuminated signs and billboards were ubiquitously placed throughout major cities and ultimately were redefining the cities visual character and quality. While the results were effective, many critics viewed the overwhelming display of brightly lit signs and billboards (in many instances anchored to the facades of buildings) as chaotic and visually over-stimulating. According to American Studies Professor David Nye, although a city skyline seen from the distance was an impressive sight, at closer range the electric signs had become an element in the tug of war between signs and buildings that had characterized the main streets of American towns since the 1840s.6 This led to tension between the artistic uses of lighting and the commercial application of lighting and perpetuated the lack of communication between architects and lighting engineers. This was particularly evident in the United States, where architects were rather suspicious of lighting 6

engineers objectives, fearing that the lighting scheme would conflict with the design intention of the architectural form. In response to the growing antagonism between architects and lighting engineers, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America was founded in 1906 in the hopes of creating collaborative works with architects to incorporate permanent architectural lighting within the fabric of conventional industrialized cities.7 In 1907 architectural professor C. Howard Walker gave a lecture entitled Electric Light as Related to Architecture to the architectural and lighting engineering community, in which he addressed the potential of architectural lighting and its overall effect on architectural form.8 One of the more controversial topics in Walkers lecture was the popular practice of outlining the perimeter of buildings with strings of incandescent lamps. According to Walker, this method of outlining the structure unintentionally resulted in the dematerialization of the building elements and materials, and would consequently, reduce the mass, surface and details of the architecture it adorned. 9 In effect, this type of lighting design would create a visual void out of the architectural mass, faade and structure. According to Walker, The lamps might as well be erected as a framework in the air. They are merely set pieces of permanent fireworks.10 In addition, Walker felt that architectural lighting should be deliberately thought out and that carefully planned floodlighting of the faade should be reserved for significant buildings that deserved special attention though illumination. This notion was once again reiterated in a May 4, 1916, article entitled Illumination of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, In it, DArcy Ryan, the Chief of Illumination for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco and General Electrics chief lighting designer, wrote, The buildings of previous expositions had in the main been used as a background upon which to display lamps. The art of incandescent outliningcould probably not be improved upon, and furthermore, this form of lighting had become commonplace. Its principle disadvantages were the diminution of artistic effectiveness at close range, similarity in effects from different viewpoints, the suppression or complete obliteration of architectural features, and the economic necessity of extensive untreated surfaces. Furthermore, the glare from so many exposed sources when assembled on white or light-colored buildings caused severe eye strain.11 As a result, the technique of outlining main buildings for the festivals was eventually curtailed. By the 1920s, technology in the field of artificial lighting had improved significantly and a shift had been made from outlining buildings and surface lighting signs and billboards to floodlighting the faades of buildings. Lighting engineers capitalized on this opportunity and began to promote the use of floodlighting to corporations and city officials as a means to reduce the overexposure of visual advertising and to promote a more refined approach to marketing. The use of color-changing floodlights to draw attention to the architecture also provided a new visual allure at night. Artificial lighting was used to manipulate the urban setting, emphasizing certain parts of the city and simultaneously suppressing less desirable parts of the city. In addition, controlled lighting was used in order to honor historical events and promote civic pride within the context of the city. This thought is expressed in David Nyes American Technological Sublime: As more skyscrapers were built which realized the possibilities of dramatic lighting, the idea of a citys night skyline became a commonplace . For the most part commercial interests decided which objects were to be visible in this new landscape. By highlighting some portions of the city and leaving other areas as unimportant blanks, illumination literally directed the consumers eyes away from poor areas toward commercial zones. Government applied the same principles to public monuments, lighting up the Statue of Liberty, the Capitol Building, the White House, and other national and local symbols. Eventually this was extended to natural landmarks, including Niagara Falls, the Natural Bridge, Old Faithful, and Mount Rushmore.12 This innovative technique of illuminating the faades of buildings was predominantly seen throughout the United States and became more popular amongst critics, architects and lighting designers who were beginning to discuss the intrinsic value of designing architecture for its appeal at night. This new approach to architecture of the night significantly changed 7

the way buildings were designed, taking into account methods of effectively incorporating lighting design and lighting fixtures as a direct response to the building itself. In 1916, the city of New York passed a new Zoning Ordinance, requiring setbacks for all newly constructed skyscrapers.13 This new ordinance provided an opportunity for architects such as Wallace Harrison, Harvey Wiley Corbett and Raymond Hood to take advantage of the required setbacks in order to hide the lighting fixtures that were used to floodlight their structures. The intention was to illuminate the buildings without leaving any visible traces of the light source attached to the buildings. But according to Dietrich Neumann, in Architecture of the Night: The Illuminated Building, architect Raymond Hood suggested that illuminating classical architecture must be altogether avoided,14 since the distortion created by the projection of light from below would alter the sense of proportion fundamental to classicism. Hood found that modern skyscrapers with intentional setbacks were most easy to illuminate successfully as the lights can be arranged to stream up the vertical forms of the building, gradually disappearing into the night, and the setbacks and terraces provide ideal places for the operation of the lights. In addition, vertical lighting from below adds the element of mystery, as the fading out of lights from the bottom to the top exaggerates the perspective, and seeing the building disappear up into the night gives it increasing height. 15 In effect, because of the required setbacks, architects were now able to design for the appropriate type and use of artificial lighting in conjunction with the overall architectural intent. According to Neumann, Electric light was considered a potential new building material that could bring about conceptual changes as profound as those caused by the arrival of steel and plate glass in the nineteenth century and justify visions of a future luminous architecture.16 A shift had been made from the previous practice of attaching lights to the faades and edges of buildings, and a more cohesive integration of architecture and architectural lighting was becoming a reality. Lighting engineers, hoping to educate and encourage architects to design with artificial lighting, created laboratories to demonstrate the effects and proper use of lighting technology. For example, General Electric, during the mid 1920s, began research on the effects of lighting on different building materials such as brick, concrete and glass, and demonstrated the effects of color rendering on such materials. Lighting engineers wanted architects to take into consideration the selection of building materials, textures, finishes, use of ornamentation and material colors when designing buildings for illumination. In addition, different lighting strategies were recommended by lighting engineers to accentuate particular aspects of the architecture. For example, General Electric recommended uniformly floodlighting simple buildings to emphasize their mass, strength and stability. Special attention had to be given to lighting architectural ornamentation, since it may be distorted by the inappropriate angling of a light source. As a result, a great simplification of architectural features was recommended. The numerous suggestions resulting from General Electrics research helped to promote architectural modernity and began to form a framework of rules, a theory for and architecture of the night.17 This simple statement by Dietrich Neumann in Architecture of the Night captures perhaps one of the most significant and noteworthy ideas regarding a shift in architectural styles towards a more modern and unadorned esthetic. Architects and designers had for centuries designed their buildings to receive light from above. However, once artificial lighting became technologically advanced enough to successfully illuminate a structure, detailing and ornamentation had to be reexamined, because this artificial lighting was directed from below. This shift in the direction of the light source greatly distorted the buildings ornamentation by casting awkward shadows that were not initially intended in the design of the buildings. As a result, by simplifying the ornamental faade of such buildings to reduce the distortion, the incorporation of artificial lighting indirectly supported a shift from a more classical architectural expression towards a more modern esthetic. In a February 8, 1925 New York Times article titled New Yorks Crown of Light, the author, in describing the Manhattan skyline, wrote, It is not so much a skyline as it is a new city of light and color rising above an old oneThe illuminated towers of Manhattan are fast multiplying and the application of floodlights to their summits has brought about a fascinating aspect of 8

architectural art. If the practice continues the glory of the cloud-hung castles of Camelot will pale before the reality of the illuminated citadels, towers, pinnacles turrets and minarets that even now rise above the city streets.18 One example to which the article refers is the American Radiator Building, completed in 1924, designed by Raymond Hood and Andre Fouilhoux. The Neo-Gothic style of the building with its black bricks conveyed a distinguished and imposing appearance and its crown was adorned with gilded ornamentation at the peaks of the setbacks. The author describes the Radiator Building as, an aggressive individual; an unashamed and genuine show-off, with plenty of brassIts receding pinnacles and piers, surmounted by a circular crown-like edifice, stand out in glittering gold, like a pagan temple, watching over the theatrical glare of Broadway to the west. This rather gloomy building of black terra-cotta thrusts through the traffic below like a great stalagmite struggling to reach the sky and at last, twenty-one stories above the street, it bursts into a defiant glare of golden light. Seen on a misty night, steaming and smoking against low-hung clouds, its glowing summit leaves an indelible impression.19 According to David Nye, even new attractions such as Palisades Park along the Hudson River received far less attention than the newly animated and radiant skyline of New York City. Yet far more impressive to most of the citizenry was the man-made aurora borealis that proclaimed the arrival of the city as a supreme artificial construction. The electrical sublime had turned New York into a unified work of art that dazzled the public imagination. Moreover, the display announced engineerings supremacy over the Beaux Arts tradition. The London Times noted: Skyscrapers are not by day remarkable for grace or beauty of line, but by night under the electricians skill they were shown to be capable of transformations which suggested rather palaces and dreams than the sober realities of the modern Land of the Dollar. (London Times, October 4, 1909) As the geometrical sublime was intensified, the city temporarily dissolved into a shimmering artificial pattern.20 This article suggested that the effect artificial lighting had on the appearance of the individual buildings as well as the overall energy it brought to the city skyline far surpassed the appearance of such buildings during the day. In other words, the incorporation of lighting within the built environment forever changed the appearance of city skylines during the night. An architecture of the sublime in effect belonged to architecture of the night. Perhaps one of the clearest accounts of the growing understanding of the role of artificial lighting in conjunction with architecture is a statement made by Wallace Harrison, an architect who worked with Howells and Corber on the design of the Pennsylvania Power Plant and who later would be the prime architect for the United Nations Complex. According to Harrison, Up to a few years ago, after nightfall, the buildings ceased to exist For centuries the architect has done nothing but study buildings in the daytime, and has worked only on that basis we are really starting an entirely new art in architecture with modern lighting. [It was the responsibility of the lighting engineers to] bring their knowledge to the attention of the architects You have given us a new architecture, a thing that works twentyfour hours a day.21 The dualism of architecture architecture for the day and architecture for the night - had become a reality. Backlighting: New Architectural Faade During this time, Germany in particular began to take advantage of illuminating its streets, public squares and buildings in order to put forward an impression of its intent to become a new world power. Germany wished to create the vision of a new capital in Berlin. Berlin was a relatively young city in comparison to more established cities such as Paris and New York, which afforded the urban planners, engineers and architects the opportunity to design an illuminated city with greater understanding of the potentials of artificial lighting. While architects in cities such as Paris, New York, and Philadelphia had to work within the existing fabric of the city and were forced to deal with issues of illuminating what was already present within the cityscape, architects and lighting engineers in Berlin could more easily integrate artificial lighting within the design of the new architecture. 9

Another factor that contributed to the architecture in Berlin was the fact that German lighting designers had a more collaborative relationship with the leading architects of the time. In 1907, architect Peter Behrens became the artistic consultant for the Allgemeine Elektricitats-Gesellschaft (AEG) the German equivalent of General Electric.22 According to Stanford Anderson in his Peter Behrens and a New Architecture for the Twentieth Century, Behrens received the AEG position that also provided him with the stimulus for a compelling zeitgeist. The modernity of the machine, of industry and of electricity was apparent. The power that was shaping modern politics and modern civilization was manifest in these great technological developments.23 The significance of Behrens becoming the artistic consultant for AEG is that he became a direct link between the architectural community and the lighting engineering community. And it was Peter Behrens who greatly influenced and set the tone for many architects such as Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, who in due course set into motion what has become known as the architectural Modern Movement. Ultimately, it was these visionaries who were able to realize the new wave of modernist utopian ideals through their designs of luminous glowing architecture and architectural space. Thus it can be argued that the rise of modernism and the modern movement was in some ways linked to the incorporation of artificial lighting into architectural forms. Paul Scheerbart, an early 20th century utopian writer, wrote a great deal about the power created by the use of glass in illuminated architecture. His ideological and utopian vision to create ambiguous spatial definitions through the incorporation of artificial light and transparent glass were actualized through many of Bruno Tauts designs and were eventually reflected in the architecture of Berlin during the 1920s. In 1914, Bruno Taut presented his Glass Pavilion at the Werkbund Exhibition in Cologne. The Glass Pavilion was illuminated from the inside out to make the building glow like a lantern, a phrase used by Scheerbart, who himself was influenced by the illumination schemes at festivals of the nineteenth century.24 When describing The Glass Pavilion, an observer noted that, with a glass surface to his right, left, underfoot and overhead, the novice visitor advanced blindly, without direction, among translucent, illuminated, and dematerialized effects.25 Architecture made of glass, depending on the position of the observer and the position of the light source in relationship to the observer, can appear as transparent, translucent, or opaque. Because of the reflective quality of glass, the angle of light can either visually solidify or visually dematerializes the glass surfaces. For example, if an individual is positioned on the outside of a glass structure during the day, and the strongest source of light is coming from the outside (the sun), then the glass structure will appear opaque. The glass reflects images of the surrounding environment such as the sky or other buildings. On the other hand, given the same conditions, an observer located on the inside of the glass enclosure would be able to see through the structure and the glass would take on a transparent quality. The same principle would hold true in reverse at night with artificial light. The observer who is on the darker side of the glass structure would be able to see through the glass structure, but the individual on the illuminated side of the glass structure would see the mirrored image of the space around him. Thus, the visual and psychological dematerialization of architectural elements can be seen through the interaction of glass and light. The association between the utopian vision of purity, spirituality and light is ever present. But now the ability to control the source becomes the key. Prior to World War II, Germany had long been fascinated with American technology, architecture and in particular the American metropolis. The allure of American industrialization eventually led Germany to view America as a model for the much anticipated modernization of Germany. Although the emergence of illuminated architecture and illuminated advertising tied directly with modernity, Germans perceived the surface-lit signs and billboards anchored to the buildings in the United States as esthetically distracting and chaotic. In addition, German critics, scholars and designers reacted to the floodlighting 10

of architecture in the United States with apprehension and skepticism. They saw no sense of unity and harmony between the architecture and the signs. In Germany, however, the cohesive nature of the relationship between artists, architects, and lighting engineers led to a more comprehensive approach to design. Berlin was a new city, which enabled its architects to create structures that worked within the immediate goals of the citys philosophy. The new architectural and urban designs in Berlin demonstrated how architecture and architectural lighting had become interdependent. Consequently, advertisements and signs in Berlin were quickly incorporated and built into the framework of new buildings in an effort to raise the esthetic standards of modern industry and commerce26 This shift in values sparked a new approach to design in which, Prewar facades were refaced in new architectural styles, and bold Lichtreklame, or illuminated advertisements, added to old and new buildings alike.27 Erich Mendelsohn was one of the leading architects who greatly influenced the way in which architecture, commercialization and artificial lighting were perceived during the 1920s and 30s, particularly in Berlin. In addition to being among the more prominent designers of his generation, Erich Mendelsohn had been exposed to the architectural styles and architectural lighting techniques that had been used in modern industrial cities such as New York. His travels to America in 1924 afforded Mendelsohn the opportunity to see the impact lighting billboards and buildings had on human perception regarding the consumer benefits of industrialization and modernization.28 In 1928, Erich Mendelsohn argued that, Industrial construction is thus leading the way to the new architecture. As industry discovered the new materials or caused their discovery, it inevitably created the necessary means and places of production.Industryis the starting point and bearer of the development that leads from the decay of civilization to a new creative culture. 29 Mendelsohns philosophy was manifest throughout his career, and his desire to fuse architecture and advertising as a means to convey modernity was realized in the 1928 design of the Petersdorff department store. One of Mendelsohns design intentions was to combine transparent glass with light in order to blur the boundary between the inside and the outside of the department store. By illuminating the sidewalk from within, Mendelsohn was able to visually remove the obstacle that existed between the potential customer and the merchandise, thus dematerializing the faade with artificial light. In addition, Mendelsohn cantilevered the curvilinear corner of the structure four and a half meters beyond the final column line of the structure. This design solution, along with the incorporation of the artificial lighting, visually reduced, the sense of the stores bulk. 30 In his design, Mendelsohn used large spans of clear glass ribbon windows that ran the length of one faade. In addition, translucent glass panels were situated above the windows in order to house the lighting fixtures. The white curtains which hung within the windows provided a surface off which the light could reflect into the street. According to Mendelsohn, the effect caused by illuminating the windows from within was, like a glowing curtain hanging down from the sky.31 Unlike the Americans who primarily focused on floodlighting the faades of their structures, Mendelsohn and his contemporaries illuminated their architecture and signs both from the interior as well as from the interstitial cavities built into their faades. In order to create backlight signs, pre-fabricated illuminated panels were invented with artificial lighting built into them to give the illusion that the light was coming from the inside. This merging of light and architectural elements was a true integration of artificial lighting within the architecture itself. This new design technique strongly reflected the utopian ideas of Scheerbart and began to evolve into crystalline architecture, architecture that literally glowed from the inside out.32 According to Alfred Gellhorn, an architect in Berlin (1926), Instead of billboards in front of the windows as in America, where you sell an entire faade and work behind it in artificial light, we can design facades that fulfill their spatial purpose,33 acting as the surface on which to incorporate the advertisement and also becoming the faade of the buildings. In 1927, architect Hugo Haring stated that, Advertising is about to replace the architecture.... It is a fact that commercial buildings dont have an architectural faade anymore, their skin is 11

merely the scaffolding for advertising signs, and lettering and luminous panels. The rest are windows.34 Although there were many concerns regarding the evolution of architecture and architectural lighting during the 1920s and 1930s, Walter Riezler wrote, The fact that the redesign of facades has become a serious architectural task is not without fundamental implications. It seems to contradict all principles of sound architecture. But it also proves that in the continuum of an urban street, the faade has become distinct from the structure behind it, so that it can be treated independently.35 By the same token, others argued that the lighting techniques in conjunction with the new glass facades made it possible to visually penetrate the space, particularly at night, revealing the structure and occupants within. This reinforced the utopian ideals of the German Modern Movement which emphasized the need to break down the boundary between the exterior and the interior. As seen in these examples, the collusion between artificial lighting and glass began to dematerialize the architecture and in particular the faade. According to Dietrich Neumann in his book Architecture of the Night, one of the most remarkable and least known architectural debates of the Weimar Republicwent beyond luminous advertising to include the role of artificial light as a new building material, design problems in the nocturnal city, different approaches in Germany and America, and finally utopian visions of an immaterial, ephemeral architecture as the ultimate fulfillment of modernity.36 According to Neumann, The new lighting technology seemed to provide the means to overcome traditional structure, and the nocturnal city was envisioned as the stage for the final, liberating act in the project of Modern Architecture.37

ARTIFICIAL LIGHT + ARCHITECTURAL DUALITY

Architecture of the Day / Architecture of the Night To fully understand the power of light, one must also accept and recognize the power of darkness. Light can only be defined in relation to darkness. And darkness can only be defined as the absence of light. One without the other would not be possible. This duality, in which extremes come into direct contact light meets shadow and material meets immaterial is where the true essence of the impact of light upon architecture lies.1 This inseparable connection is clearly expressed through the words of Christian NorbergSchultz: Light and things belong together. When the sun strikes a thing, light becomes aware of itself, and the thing gains its presence. Thus day and night, earth and sky, come into being, and we comprehend the meaning of the first words: Let there be light! 2 One of the interesting outcomes of assimilating light into architecture is that it is not only a play on allusion and illusion, but also a composition of sentiment and experience. The application of light address challenges associated with designing spaces that are evocative, symbolic, inspirational as well as fundamentally intuitive. Although the intensity and power of artificial light is more dramatic when it is in contrast to darkness, it is equally as important to maintain the integrity of the structures presence during the day as it is during the night; limiting its function to a particular period of the day would rob it of its full potential. For thousands of years architecture was designed for and was primarily revered for its presence during the day. Architectural detailing and articulation addressed the fundamental understanding that light would strike the surfaces and penetrate into a space from above. The sun was the constant in the sky and its effects on the built environment dictated the way design and lighting in particular was approached. Since the end on the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, the understanding and appreciation of architecture during the night became of paramount concern due to the advent of electric lighting. Architecture now had visual weight and presence both during the day and the night. The acceptance of Architecture of the Night1 had become a reality. 12

As mentioned previously, the visual presence and splendour of architecture at night became more pronounced with the advancement of artificial lighting techniques. Architecture that once held value and was highly revered during the day, now took on an equally profound and dominant position within the skyline of the cities during the night. Keeping this in mind, there are two ways to approach the notion of the duality of architecture of the day and architecture of the night. The first approach to understanding this dichotomy between the two extremes is to analyse and evaluate the visual impact a particular structure has during the day versus the visual impact the same structure has at night. In many ways architecture of the day and architecture of the night can be likened to comparing photographic images. When looking at photographic images of buildings taken during the day and then comparing them to images of the same structure taken at night, the latter takes on ghostly qualities and begins to read like a photographic negative of a picture taken of the building during the day. What was once light becomes dark and what was once dark becomes light. What once seems solid seems void, and what once seems void seems solid. According to Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, In the photographic camera we have the most reliable aid to a beginning of objective vision. Everyone will be compelled to see that which is optically true.3 This notion of architectural duality is particularly prevalent in the works of Richard Meier, who creates contrast by combining stark white enamel panels juxtaposed against large spans of transparent glass. This contrast exaggerates the perception of positive and negative space, and because of the way in which light reflects off and emanates out of the architecture and architectural space, the dynamics of architectural duality is visually clear. Meier effectively uses light, color and materiality to create, define and perceptually alter his architecture. Through his architectural designs, Richard Meier addresses issues of opacity, transparency and reflectivity as seen through light. The second approach to understanding the dual nature of architecture is to acknowledge the fact that the intention of creating architecture and architectural space began to shift toward creating architecture for its visual and psychological impact during the night. In other words, instead of artificially illuminating buildings and structures as an afterthought, so that they have visual context at night, architecture is designed and intended to have allure and to be experienced primarily at night. In this way, the appeal and esthetics of the structure becomes dependent on the way in which it will be rendered at night using artificial lighting as the primary design element. One example of this is the dynamic architectural lighting technique of the Tower of Winds. The Tower of Winds, completed in November, 1986, was a collaborative work between the architecture team of Toyo Ito and Associates and Kaoru Mende + Lighting Planners Associates. During the 1970s when Europe and the United States saw a dramatic decrease in the advancement of lighting technologies because of the energy crises of 1973, Japanese cities such as Tokyo began lighting public buildings at night in order to accentuate the skyline. It is a very brief moment at dusk when the two phases of the city of Tokyo overlap. The city, which is like an enormous rubbish dump made up of rusty metalware, rags and wastepaper vanishes, and another city, a city of light, a city of phenomenon, emerges in the faint evening light.4 Within this statement, Japanese-born architect Toyo Ito clearly describes how the perceived meaning and value of architecture on an individual level and on an urban scale can be perceptually altered merely through the integration of artificial lighting. The designers of the Tower of Winds renovated a deteriorating ventilation and water supply tower for the coach terminal of Yokohama station in Kanagawa, Japan. The design intent was to create an architectural form that, through the manipulation of artificial lighting, could create a dynamic environment and could perceptually alter the physical qualities of the structure. By encircling the elliptical form with die-punched aluminum the designers were able to hide the lighting system within the cavity of the structure. In addition, Ito and Mende used computer sensors, mirrors, neon tube lighting, incandescent lamps and floodlighting to 13

transform data received from differing wind conditions and speeds into electromagnetic impulses that in turn altered the appearance of the tower. According to Riichi Miyake, who wrote the introduction for Designing with Light and Shadow, Mendes lighting design is like magic powder sprinkled on a building. Under its spell, the building undergoes a transformation, becoming more radiant and nuanced. 5 During the day, the structure has a rather somber static appearance, however, at night, when illuminated, it takes on a dynamic vibrant role within its setting. The structure literally transforms and responds to the environment around it. In this regard, the Tower of Winds is perhaps one of the best examples of how architecture and architectural space can be both static and dynamic at the same time. In the book World of Environmental Design Elements of Landscape, Francisco Asensio Cerver writes, Behind the cover, the original structure disappears beneath a covering of acrylic mirrors that reflect, like those on a merry-go-round, the thousand lights dancing within it.creating ephemeral architectures of light 6 In addition to the fact that the Tower of Winds expresses the duality of architecture of the day and architecture of the night, Cervers statement regarding the illuminated character of the structure reiterates the notion that the duality of architecture can also exist as architecture of the material and architecture of the immaterial. For example, Cerver continues by stating, What is important is what they show us, what they reflect of our ever-changing consumer society. Our two contradictions are resolved by a metaphor. The tower reflects its circumstances, meaning it is not material. The tower is never the same, and so it is ephemeral.7 Architecture of the Material / Architecture of the Immaterial Intangible content gives life-quality to architectonic form; creative forgetfulness gives life-quality to life itself. Of these three aspects of non-being, intangible content in architectonic form is the subject of this investigation. Creative forgetfulness and spiritual being are mentioned because only through the integration of the three does knowledge acquire its significance. The life-quality of architecture, like the life-quality of humanity itself, exists not only in the realm of the material but also in the realm of intangibility, the realm that each man must find and conquer for himself. 8 Amos Ih Tiao Chang According to Dietrich Neumann, Form magazine published an article in 1929 stating, Light provides us with a new formal element devoid of materials firmness, stability, and organic definition. It seemingly stands in great contrast to the formal elements of our time. We have to ask if our traditional understanding of form, based as it is on material and measurable values, might not have to be replaced with a new, more comprehensive notion One year later, the magazine Bauwlt summarized: It would be difficult to find any construction or new building material offering as many artistic possibilities, and thus challenges, as light. 9 Initially, lighting designers and lighting engineers came from the world of theater, where they had a better understanding of the potential as well as the limitations of this medium. Therefore as they began to design lighting for the illumination of architecture, they treated it as a stage, a backdrop where people and art (objects) within the building become the performers. In a 1960 article in The New Yorker, Joseph Wechsberg wrote about the lighting designer Abe Feder, who designed the lighting scheme for many prominent buildings such as the United Nations Headquarters and Rockerfeller Center. Wechsberg wrote, Feder has used light as if it were a building material plaster, concrete or wood. He picks up a light and places it elsewhere, or piles light beams on top of one another, as if they were bricks. But if light is for him one of the plastic architectural elements, it is by far the worthiest of the lot.10 This recognition of ephemeral, illusory material light as building material is a significant shift from architecture of the material to architecture of the immaterial and ultimately to the concept of light as architecture. The Blur Building by Diller + Scofidio is an example of a non14

traditional architectural space that uses the ephemeral qualities of water and light to define its form. In this instance, Diller + Scofidio used mist and fog to literally blur the boundaries of their structure. The concept of the Blur building was to create formless architecture that became as much an experience as a physical building. Thus, the Blur building is an architecture of the material as well as architecture of the immaterial. Diller + Scofidio achieved this in a temporary structure on a lake for the 2002 Swiss Expo. The design consisted of a steel structural frame that was anchored into the lake bed through concrete footings. This gave the structure stability and supported the platforms on which Expo visitors could walk. In addition to supporting the platforms, the steel structure housed thousands of spray nozzles that sprayed tiny water droplets into the air, producing a fine mist above the structural frame of the building. This mist created the formless, unstructured, liquid architecture. The intent behind the Blur building was to create a structure that allowed the user to interact with the built environment and at the same time to be enveloped within its formless form. Another design intent for the Blur building was to drastically reduce the users dependency on vision, to rely on other senses, smell, sound, touch, and taste. This reliance on the other senses is what helped break down the conventional way of understanding, defining and experiencing the building. By manipulating the way one senses the built environment, the team of Diller + Scofidio was able to challenge the visitors experience of the Blur building on multiple levels. The result became a dialogue for further understanding the boundaries and the expectations of architecture and space on a macro level. Although the Blur building did have a discernible shape hidden behind its illusive form, it was the light reflecting from the surface the mist that gave the Blur building its character, its essence and its form. The Blur building challenges the conventional notion of architectural, form and function, and poses the question as to whether architecture can extend beyond its tangible boundaries to include the essence and the experience of the form. In other words, does architecture define itself through the physical make-up of its components, whether solid, liquid, gas or for the sake of this thesis, light particles? In order to address this concern, one must first understand the way in which light is perceived. Light is illusive in nature, yet its impact can be palpable and visually arresting. Although we cannot see the physical components of light, its presence instantaneously materializes once the particles of light reflect off of the surfaces of tangible objects, consequently giving light meaning and form by reflecting off a physical medium. In essence, the rays of the sun or the rays of high-powered spot lights are in reality the result of invisible electromagnetic radiation reflecting off the physical, tangible particles in the air such as dust, pollution and moisture, giving the illusion that physical tangible beams of light are penetrating into and ultimately creating space. (Refer to the Appendix for more detail). One of the most influential designers in the field of lighting design was Joachim Teichmuller. Teichmuller used the term Lichtarchitektur, light architecture, to refer to the ethereal role of lighting within the tangible qualities of architecture. Teichmuller was not only cognizant of the design of the light source, which would complement the space, its forms and ornamentsbut also addressed the space-shaping power of light itselfwhich alone could justify the concept of light architecture: Both architecture and the lamps, in particular the light emanating from its source, are fused into an artistic unity, so intimate and inseparable, that one must speak of a light architecture.11 According to Teichmuller, architectural light can lead to light architectureif with it and only with it, specific architectural effects are produced, which appear and disappear simultaneously with the light. 12 The ability to control artificial light in order to define space, edge, boundary and form has tremendous power in visually and psychologically altering perception. In 1933 the Nationalist Socialist Party was elected into power in Germany. The power and mysticism of light were popularly used as a means to create propaganda and to spread the message of the party. Lighting drew attention to specific buildings to emphasize the visual as well as political significance and power of those structures. The Nazi regime understood the power of 15

Lichtarchitektur, and used it to their advantage to actively spread their physically and psychologically aggressive rhetoric. Through theatrics and a strong grasp of artificial lighting, Hitlers regime was able to manipulate, control and edit the city, the central power of the Third Reich, and proliferate its own agenda. The effect was chilling. On September 7, 1934, Albert Speer, who was Adolph Hitlers chief architect, used the power and mysticism so deeply rooted in ones understanding of light in order to generate propaganda for the Nazi political party during the rallies at Neremberg. In August of each year, hundreds of thousands of Nazis assembled in open fields where Speer created and defined the setting with over a hundred searchlights pointing vertically into the night sky. These slender streaks of light, which soared several miles up, created the illusion that hundreds of columns were pointing into the sky, creating ethereal architectural space and form. Speer used searchlights for many applications for his architectural and urban designs. He used similar lighting techniques for the closing ceremonies of the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, creating a visual dome above the stadium. Speer himself sensed that if anything it will finally be only these dramatics I will be remembered for. The Cathedral the most immaterial and temporal of Speers designs survived longer than all he had done or planned before and after. The work exceeded its time, its context, its purpose, and its author.13 The columns of light were not intended to visually enhance or support an already existing architecture but rather, were an abstract representation of the columns found in classical architecture. The rhythm and deliberate spacing of the lights created a spectacular space that evoked mysticism, awe and reverence. There is no question that these columns of light defined the form, the edge, and the architectural space. In a 1979 BBC audio interview, Albert Speer described the vision he created for the night time Neremberg rallies. I used 130 or so searchlights which I was distributing in always the same distances around this rally field. The impression I had when we were trying it was surpassing everything I was thinking because it turned out that there was a creation of a kind of a huge hall just by lights, and to create something which is like a building just by light was in this time really something new.
14

Searchlights used by Albert Speer created spatial as well as formal configurations, which translated into an ephemeral architectural space, an approach to design that Dietrich Neumann says was inspired by Paul Scheerbarts 1906 notion of Lichtarchitektur. Two articles were published in the 1934 Deutsche Bauzeitung titled Lichtarchitektur and Licht und Bau (Light and Building), in which the author states, What has not yet developed is an architecture that has honestly been devised and built for a decent daytime existence and will at night find its essential fulfillment by its metamorphosis into sheer luminosityDesigns that have never found their realization, and will not during daytime, could exist at night: one could in and above the existing city of Berlin, create one out of light and luminous relationships. Above the factual city, a tactical city would be built, one that is not graspable, but palpable and unfathomable A light Space Architecture An entirely new Berlin. A dream city Berlin above the old one. 15 In describing Albert Speers artificial lighting displays, Neumann writes, Speers lighting cathedrals were meant less as a spectacle to be viewed, than as an interior space of unfathomable size to be experienced by participants whose strictly choreographed positions were an important part of the arrangement. The rectangular space conjured above Nurembergs Zeppelin field and the oval form above the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, were illusionary interior spaces, carefully separated from the luminous city centers nearby, purged of color and movement and striving for a technologically infused modernity supposedly closer to Gothic Cathedrals than contemporary entertainment.16 Reflecting on Albert Speers creation of an architectural space through the sole use of artificial lighting, one can pose the question, can such displays can in and of themselves be considered architecture?

16

ARTIFICIAL LIGHT + THE FUTURE

Architecture and Form One of the difficulties of using light is that there isnt yet a tradition of using it in out culture. On the one hand, it is no more unusual to use it than to use stone, clay, steel, or paint. There are materials that you honor, and to that degree I was interested in using light not light in glass, scrim, or Plexiglas, but light in the space itself and the qualities of space making that light without traditional physical form.... My material is light....1 James Turrell It is important to understand that the concept of artificial light as architecture is a subtle yet significant distinction between the understanding and belief that artificial light can visually and psychologically manipulate architectural space and architectural elements, versus the notion that artificial light, independent of traditional architectural elements, can be defined as architecture. There is no question that light creates ambience, mood and gives character to any given space, but can light whether a single solitary beam of light controlled in a very definitive manner or a multitude of lights flooding an area perform as a wall, a column or perhaps, in an extreme scenario, a building? To accept this theory one must first characterize architecture and architectural form. In The Life of Forms In Art, Henri Focillon argues that Architecture, however, at least according to the traditional notion, is a stable structure, which gives form to permanent values and consolidates an urban morphology. In addition, Focillon writes, In essence and by destination, the art of architecture exerts itself in a true space, one in which we walk and which the activity of our bodies occupies. However, Focillon continues by stating that, A building, moreover is rarely a single mass. Rather, it is a combination of secondary masses and principal masses In addition, the he argues that light is treated not so much as an inert factor as a living element, fully capable of entering into and of assisting the cycle of metamorphoses. Light not only illuminates the internal mass, but collaborates with the architecture to give it its needed form. Light itself is form, since its rays, streaming forth at predetermined points, are compressed, attenuated or stretched in order to pick out the variously unified and accented member of the building, for the purpose either of tranquilizing it or of giving it vivacity. Light is form 2 If Focillons notions are accurate, meaning if architecture is form, and light is form then for the sake of this argument, this thesis posits the possibility that light itself can be architecture. And to define artificial light not only in terms of architectural elements, but to give credit to the notion that controlled, designed light, independent of all other physical elements, must be considered a way of making architecture is to push the boundary of what we can perceive today into the potential of what can be achieved tomorrow. Although the question as to whether light defines architecture or architecture defines light has not been resolved, the desire to create ephemeral space already exists. The film industry and digital design studios have already crossed over into the realm of virtual reality space. George Lucass Star Wars sagas require of us a suspension of disbelief in the some way that the 1927 Fritz Langs Metropolis challenged its audience. Artists such as James Turrell and Robert Irwin define space in terms of light and time. In addition, architectural debates have postulated the existence of cyberspace; whether it truly constitutes space and if so, what are the responsibilities of the architectural community towards conveying that idea to the general public. Computer generated architectural space is readily used within the normal functions of architectural firms. In fact, architectural

competitions that require nothing more than computer generated virtual space have become the norm within the industry. In short, light not only defining but taking on the characteristics of architectural elements and architectural space has become a reality. This notion is reinforced in the words of Michael Iorio, a Montreal architect who experimented with the properties of light both visible and invisible electromagnetic radiation in an attempt to articulate and define architectural spatial sequences. According to Iorio, Light is used as a primary architectural ordering mechanism to transform the virtual into the palpable and to suspend and distort time. By pushing architecture to embrace the realm of electromagnetic frequencies ... architects can potentially engage the cybernetic conditions which have redefined the essence of our contemporary urban fields. 3 Light Architecture The Tribute in Lights was an emotional response to the tragic events that took place on September 11th, 2001. Shortly after the destruction of the two World Trade Center towers, the New York Times issued an invitation to come up with some form of resolution in response to the void created by the fallen towers. Two artists, Julian LaVerdiere and Paul Myoda, proposed using two beacons of light called Phantom Towers as a way of sculpting the plumes of dust 4 in order to represent the two towers that had dominated the skyline. It is an emotional response more than anythingthe towers are like ghost limbs, we can feel them even though theyre not there anymore. 5 Architects John Bennett and Gustavo Bonevardi also responded to the tragic events of September 11 by proposing to fill the void in their citys skyline with high-powered lights. The intent was to symbolically recreate the form and image of the two fallen towers. They believed that this reconstruction would also fill the void in the citys identity and help in the healing process. Were not trying to make a memorial; this is a rebuilding of our citys skyline, of its spirit, said one of the architects. 6 During the evenings of March 11 until April 13, from dusk until midnight, 88 Xenon searchlights mounted at Battery Park City, directly west of the World Trade Center created two beacons of light that were directed vertically up into the sky. This gesture was deeply rooted in the emotional need to connect with the very space where the towers once stood. In this way, the two vertical shafts of light became the visual place markers for what once occupied a physical tangible presence in the Manhattan skyline. Symbolically, the lights honored the memory of the individuals who lost their lives; visually, the lights represented the physical structure and form. And in essence, the two beacons of light became the form that replaced the form. The question then becomes, Do these two beacons of lights belong in the realm of architecture? In short, can they be considered architecture in and of themselves? According to Bennett, Since we cant save lives, we tried to respond to public needs with architecture. th 7 In addition, on November 20, 2002, the 96 Annual New York Society of Architects awarded the designers of the Tribute of Lights, the Distinguished Service Award for an Outstanding Contribution to Architecture. These vertical columns of light are continuously referred to as architecture and perhaps this symbiotic reference to architecture is the link that can bridge the gap between the theory of light architecture and the reality of light architecture. After all, the medium of light is, in itself, neutral. Content or meaning arises from whatever light is trained on. Of all the media that could be used to create a memorial, light is the most open, the most receptive to ideas that wood or metal or stone might resist. The light of Tribute is used in a built environment. And New York is a port city. So where ancestors literally looked to lighthouses to guide them, we look to skyscrapers, for they are symbolic beacons. Each in its own way calls out across the water. On the New York skyline, Tribute replaces buildings. Its two columns are actual lighthouses, that is, houses of light. But instead of casting beams outward, parallel to earth and water, these point upward, to the heavens.

17

18

That shift is like the one that occurred when the most famous lighthouse of antiquity, the Pharos of Alexandria, gave its form to other buildings. The Pharos was a wonder of the world, inspiring other structures radically different in purpose. One was the slender tower attached to mosques, the minaret. Where the Pharos led travelers home the minaret called pilgrims to prayer. Tribute does both at once. 8

DESIGN PROPOSAL
Introduction to Project The objective of this project is to combine artificial light with structural materials in such a way that the more traditional architectural elements take on a subservient role, allowing the light to become the essence and focal point of the space. The intent is to juxtapose the ephemeral qualities of light with the tangible materials of the site and structures, thus bringing the duality into one experience. The challenge of this project is to manipulate light so that the ethereal qualities of the light have as much presence and visual weight as the structural elements used within the building. The transformation of the surfaces and textures of the building by the reflection and refraction of light, be it a single focused beam of (artificial) light or the powerful display of natural light against the surfaces, can be a metaphore for the transformations we go through when we choose to exercise our voice, our power, our presence. Keeping this in mind, I would like to create a space where the role of light, in particular artificial light, within the built environment can be symbolic of the Power of One; the power of one thought; one voice; one act; one person. Therefore I am proposing to design a Community Action Resource Center on the south lawn of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center which will function in conjunction with the Freedom Center and its values. Moreover to create a structure that becomes a literal and symbolic beacon as the Action Resource Center, for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the overall community of the Greater Cincinnati area. Design Intent Artificial light played an interesting role in the history of the Underground Railroad because it was the medium through which abolitionists could communicate with the runaway slaves. For example, many abolitionists placed candles and lanterns in their windows, to indicate that they provided a safe house for slaves who were in search of freedom. This act of placing a light in the window will be reflected in the design of the Community Action Resource Center a lantern beckoning visitors to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. In essence, the Community Action Resource Center becomes the light in the window and instead of competing with the Freedom Center, it will complement and make historical references to the Underground Railroad. In this regard, the Community Action Resource Center will be artificially lit, both from the inside and the outside, not only for visual acuity but also for visual impact. In order to create visual drama, the exterior artificial lights will not be illuminated during the day; instead, just before dusk, the lights will be switched on so that as night approaches the lights begin to glow and appear as though they have always been present and become more and more intense as the surrounding area becomes visibly darker. Consequently, when looking at the site from across the river, the intent of the design is to appear as though it is a long thin sliver of light carved into the earth, creating the illusion that the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is floating above a horizontal band of light. In this regard, the design takes on the role of a contemporary lighthouse which is meant, literally and figuratively, to guide individuals to the Freedom Center. The physical, tangible properties of the structure must be minimized in order to express and capture the symbolic meaning intended in the design through light. As mentioned in chapter two, artificial light has the potential to visually dematerialize the faade of the building and to give the illusion that physical tangible elements can give way to more ephemeral, illusory elements. Since the building will incorporate more traditional 19

architectural elements such as opaque, translucent and transparent materials as well as intangible, provisional lighting techniques, the relationship between the built form, natural light and artificial light must be considered. Consequently, the choice of materials used within this structure is a major concern for the design intent. It is important to note that in order to perceive visible rays of light (in effect to see a shaft of light penetrate a space), there must be substantial particles within the air from which the light will reflect. To achieve this, shallow reflective pools adjacent to the structure will be incorporated within the design. The hope is that the mist or fog floating off the surface of the pools will create enough surfaces within the air to accentuate the visual presence of light as well as reflect the light thus amplifying, the impact of the light. The pools will also be symbolic of ones journey through transformation and growth and represent the act of traveling from one state of consciousness to another. Finally, two of the main concerns about creating space using artificial light are the environmental impact, and the economic implications the design may pose. The selection of materials, the physical impact on the site and the ecological impact due to the nature of the project will all have to be carefully examined. It is important to understand the impact of light pollution on the environment and ecosystem as well as to select materials and finishes that are sustainable and environmentally responsible. This cannot be overlooked and must be reflected in the final design.

20