Inter-Relationship Between Light and Surfaces - Assignment Example

DESIGNING WITH SURFACES AND LIGHT Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Light in the Environment 4 Light travels in a straight line 4 Example 1: A modern house by Nikos Koukourakis 5 Example 2: A traditional mud mosque in West Africa 6 Example 3: An office building at Apeldorn in the Netherlands 7 The inverse square law 8 Example 4: A section of a courtyard 9 Example 5: A library in Southern California by Michael Graves 10 Example 6: Maritime Museum in Los Angeles by Frank Gehry 11 Thresholds 12 Example 7: Main entry foyer in the Chifley Square Building in Sydney, Australia 13 Example 8: Colonnaded arcades in the city of Bologna in northern Italy 15 Example 9: Federation Square complex of buildings in Melbourne, Australia 16 Adaptation 17 Example 10: Sydney Harbour Tunnel 18 Example 11: Design of art galleries 19 Texture and Pattern 21 Example 12: A grotto under Margate in the UK 21 Example 13: A sandstone wall in a building in Miiraflores in Spain 22 Reflection 23 Pair no. 1 24 24 Pair No. 2 24 24 Pair No. 3 24 Pair No. 4 25 25 Pair No. 5 25 25 Pair No. 6 25 Conclusion 26 Reference 27 Light in the Environment It is important to understand the basic properties of light as it would help to work along with the features of light and design as per its various properties and create great buildings and interiors. Further, the manner in which the properties of light behave and is distributed on various surfaces and forms in the three dimensional that is very relevant to understand. The interaction between light and various surfaces help in providing important data regarding the surfaces and their characteristics, whether they are flat or curved, have edges or not etc. This information is critical for human beings as our interpretation about the shapes and characteristics of the objects helps us in interacting with them in an effective manner. Such interactions also help in limiting together with providing various opportunities for the architects and designers to play with light and create interesting buildings and interiors. While the constraints helps in defining the various functional issues that are being linked with how humans interact with the surrounding, the opportunities are more related to how light can be used in an aesthetic manner (Phillips 2000). Light travels in a straight line Light is defined as the section of the electromagnetic spectrum on which the visual system responds upon. It is understood that light emitted from any light source travels in a straight line. Further, this straight line can be from any of the directions emitted from the light source. In the following section, we would understand how light interacts and behaves in the 3D world with regards to the law of light traveling in a straight line. This is an essential law to be regarded as it would help us in understanding the way light behaves in the environment so that it could be manipulated to create interesting designs (Lam & Ripman 1992). Some of the basic properties that are linked with the properties of light being traveling in a straight line and interacting with the 3D world are given below: It has been found that in case there is a sharp or sudden discontinuity in the form or shape of a surface within the opposite direction on the light, a new orientation about the surface would be created. The shape of the object would also get replicated with a cast shadow wherein the light rays would illuminate the surface that is being displaced from the original form. In case the form is seen from that particular location then the shape would be viewed as a silhouette. This is due to the presence of cast and attached shadows. The shadow’s intensity however would be dependent on the forms’ size and the spatial relationships between them and the surrounding surfaces. In case the shapes are adequately spatially separated from the nearby surfaces and forms, it would be needed to introduce indirect skylight for decreasing the intensity of the shadows. Further, in case the light that continues even after creating the shadow may reflect on the shadow as well, due interaction with different surfaces beyond the initial surface and reflect back on the shadowed area. Thus, these spatial relationships between the various forms and the light source play a major role in the creation of the appearance of the surfaces or forms (Loriers 1992). Example 1: A modern house by Nikos Koukourakis The above house created by architect Nikos Koukourakis is created in Dionysos, which is a residential area in northeastern Attica, Greece. The major concept of architecture in this house was to create a place with straight lines, huge openings that leads to the garden. This helped in gaining natural light into the house that could travel to every corner of the house, by exploring the concept of light travelling in a straight line. Thus, the design helped in decreasing the amount of energy required to illuminate the place as natural light could be penetrated into every part of the house. In the above picture, the left-hand side of the house and the back of the house is being shown, with interesting interplay of shadows and light. The inside room is naturally illuminated during the day as the sunlight directly reaches the room, which indicates that the light travels in straight lines. Further, it could also be seen that light could not bend around the house and thus, projects a strong shadow the moment it hits a strong surface. Example 2: A traditional mud mosque in West Africa Photo Credit: Nigerian MudMosque – World of Interiors December 2003 In this photograph, it is clearly being indicated that light travels in a straight line, as it illuminates the façade due to direct sunlight coming on the surface of the mud mosque. Further, the shadow of the water spout also establishes the fact that light travels in straight lines as even the curved shape is being lit in a uniform manner. Example 3: An office building at Apeldorn in the Netherlands Photo Credit: Appledorn Office Complex - Photographs by Paul Frame The way in which light travels in straight lines also influences the effects that are cast inside the buildings as well. For instance, in the above picture, the design of the building is a departure from traditional work environments with the placement of big open spaces and desks, providing an open office for the employees. In order to play with the spatial framework of shape and form, as well as provide natural lighting inside the building, narrow atria intersecting at right angles were made, which helped in reflecting sunlight directly inside the building, illuminating the area that comes under the sunlight, while providing dark shadows where the light is not able to reach. The inverse square law The intensity of light decreases with the distance it covers from the source to the destination. This decrease in intensity follows the law of Inverse Square which means that with the distance from the source doubling, the light’s intensity would also decrease by one quarter. Thus, there is a rapid decline in the light’s intensity being emitted from the source. The Inverse Square Law also has several issues as well as provides opportunities for the designers to use this law and create interesting intersection between light and forms (Russell 2008). Some of the characteristics of this law are being discussed below (Lou 1996): The law of Inverse Square focuses on the fact that the light’s intensity changes with the change in distance between the source of the light and the destination. At the time of emission of the light ray, the light is being emitted with intensity that is being equal towards all the directions. However, with the distance between the source and the destination increasing, the intensity of the light also changes. Example 4: A section of a courtyard Photo credit: Collection of Faculty of Architecture Slide Library The intensity of the sunlight reflecting in this section of the courtyard is being found to be quite similar as the sun in not positioned directly overhead at the time when this picture was taken. The picture was taken during autumn and therefore, the intensity of the light is not strong on the objects in the picture. It is however interesting to notice that the objects that are in the direct line of the sunlight are being illuminated in a brighter manner, as compared to those which are at a distance from the window. Example 5: A library in Southern California by Michael Graves Photo credit: Collection of Faculty of Architecture Slide Library In this photograph it is being clearly indicated that the table that is being located near the window gets the maximum intensity of light which is sufficient for writing and reading. However, the intensity of light reduces with the light progressing and gradually diminishes as it travels from the large windows, as clearly illustrated through the reducing light intensity marked on the walls and the floor. This is a clear example of Inverse Square Law, wherein the intensity of light reduces with the light travelling from the source to the farthest point. This law is especially beneficial for highlighting a particular area, by exposing it through the placement of the light directly above the form and gradually decreasing the intensity of the light around the object, thus providing a successful aesthetic device to highlight certain portions of a building or design. Example 6: Maritime Museum in Los Angeles by Frank Gehry Photo credit: Terry Purcell In the above picture, the architect uses spotlights in an interesting manner to provide a dramatic effect as well as highlight on the exhibits by lighting up the surface on which the exhibits are placed, while deliberately leaving the other areas unlit. This creates a contrast between the lit and unlit portions and thereby providing emphasis on the exhibits that are illuminated through the spotlights. Further, the spotlights are also positioned on the ceiling which is at some distance from the exhibits. This helps in focusing the light directly on the exhibits without diffusing the path of the light on other objects. The use of spotlight in the museum creates similar dramatic effects as being done by theatre lighting. Thresholds Human beings have evolved with various sensory systems that help in providing information regarding his or her surroundings and environment. These senses may be divided into two groups, i.e. a group that gives information regarding the physical environment through vision and the other group that focuses on the auditory information or about the sounds in the environment. The vision focuses on how light sources impact the surface or forms and how they reflect light in the 3D world. Some of the other senses include how human perceives various sounds in the environment, how they respond to touches on the surfaces, smell or taste certain objects. All these sensory systems provide information regarding the physical world. Further, these senses also provide information regarding the 3D world’s spatial qualities that one lives in. However, it has been considered that the vision provides one of the most detailed and precise information regarding the spatial and surface attributes of the surroundings (Hogue 2004). Due to evolution, humans have been provided with a physical structure that makes us not only very mobile but also allows us to manipulate and examine objects in detail with our hands. Thus, our anatomical structure together with our senses create an integrated system, wherein the anatomical structures helps us in behaving or acting in certain way in the world, while our senses providing information about various physical aspects of the world. With regards to the visual system of humans, the relationship between senses and the physical world might create certain constrains as well. For the visual system to be able to manipulate, examine and create objects, it should be able to look at the finer details of even the smaller part of an object (Duboism 2006). Further, it is also essential to differentiate between these finer details as well to fully appreciate the given object. Due to our capacity of being highly mobile, we are also able to view objects according to the larger scale as well and locate objects in certain allocated space. The visual system is however dependent on the light that is being reaching the eyes and that falls on the retina which is surrounded by the fovea. Therefore, human beings produce two visual systems, namely peripheral and central vision, with each of these creating significant impacts on the designing of an object. While the central vision focuses on the surface properties such as the colour, texture, reflections and patterns of the objects, peripheral vision focuses on the larger visual world such as the form of the object, the spatial attributes like the distance between buildings and the landscaping (Edgar 2004). The manner in which the peripheral and central vision can manipulate and influence design is being illustrated in the following examples. Example 7: Main entry foyer in the Chifley Square Building in Sydney, Australia Photo credit: Sowerby Smith The same picture when being seen from two points provides interesting results. From the peripheral vision, the room is seen as a holistic unit, with the vision taking into consideration the walls, floors as well as the ceiling through the larger visual scale. This provides the experience of seeing the interior of the room through its spatial qualities. In comparison, the second picture highlights on the artwork that was place at the top of the stairs in the first picture, and formed a part of the entire picture in the first one. However, in the second one, the central vision helps on concentrating on the artwork and understanding the texture and shape of the object. Example 8: Colonnaded arcades in the city of Bologna in northern Italy Photo credit: Terry Purcell In order to experience or understand the interior of a building or object, it is essential to view it from both the visual systems: peripheral as well as central visions. In the above example, the spatial quality of the floor and the surrounding forms could be experienced through the peripheral vision, however, to uncover and understand the rich detailing of the floor, it is important to view it through the central vision, as seen in the second photograph. Example 9: Federation Square complex of buildings in Melbourne, Australia Photo credit: Terry Purcell Similar to the example 8, this example also illustrates the basics about central and peripheral vision. While the first picture provides a holistic image of the structure as seen through the peripheral vision, the send picture gives the details about the design that could only be seen from a central vision. Therefore, it can be said that the threshold from where a person is viewing a particular object provides a major contributing role in defining the perception of the person about the design of the surface. Adaptation One of the important properties in the visual world focuses on the fact that light has a range of intensities and based on it, our perception about the surface and object is manipulated or formed. Such range of light can either vary from the one end of full sunlight to the other end of complete darkness. The changes in the intensity of light in fact occurs very naturally in the environment during the 24 hours of the day and night cycle. However, it is interesting to note that the distributions of the light during the different hours are not uniform. For instance, while standing in an open field we can be exposed to the intensity of the sun, however, as we get inside a forest, this intensity of light would also diminish (Jodidio 2002). Being mobile, humans are also exposed to various kinds of intensities of light at varied point of time. Such variations in light usually occur due to the natural processes in the environment. However, with regards to buildings, such intensities of light are being created through the distribution of light in a temporal manner. Such variations of light also create considerable issues for the visual system as well. The vision needs to adjust through a whole range of light intensities and maintain sensitivity as well. Such a process of adjusting is known as adaptation, which could be used in the designing of a building and integrating them with the natural environment (Arias Orozco and Avila Ramírez 2004; Demers 1997). Example 10: Sydney Harbour Tunnel Photo credit: Sowerby Smith The Sydney Harbour Tunnel presents a difficult issue for the visual system as indicated in the above pictures. In the first picture, it is clearly illustrated that the tunnel has very high light intensities at the entrance of the tunnel due to the presence of natural sunlight. As the entrance is small, the natural light tends to get inside the tunnel as per the Inverse Square Law. Further, the vehicles tend to enter into the tunnel in a quick manner thus, transitioning from the light to the dark very rapidly. However, this leads to the issue of the visual system to shift or adjust to the change in light intensities quickly to drive the vehicle. In such a situation where the driver is moving between light intensities, he or she would face momentary blindness once entering a dark tunnel from a bright road, which posses a dangerous situation. Thus, a solution to the issue might be the use of artificial source of lighting to create similar level of light intensity within the tunnel as well. However, such a solution would be an expensive proposition. In the case of the Harbour Tunnel, the designers installed six banks of lights at the entrance of the tunnel to help in creating similar light intensity inside the tunnel for the drivers, so that they do not face momentary blindness while entering the tunnel. In the second photograph, the light banks are reduced to four to create a uniform intensity of light inside the tunnel and as the driver no longer needs to adjust the vision as per the external environment. Example 11: Design of art galleries Photo credit: Faculty of Architecture Slide Library The first photograph provides the main feature of the building, i.e. of the barrel vaulted ceiling, which is present in the entire building. Natural light is able to penetrate through the barrel vault as shown in the first picture. However, the light is diffused and the intensity level is quite low due to the nature and colour of the concrete used in the barrel vault. In comparison, the individual galleries has lesser spilling of light as it is being covered with artificial ceiling and the artifacts inside these galleries are highlighted through spotlights. Texture and Pattern An interesting aspect regarding surfaces and forms is related to the experience of two sensory features, which are perceptions about objects through vision and touch. The relationship between these two senses provides an interesting combination as well as representation about certain objects and designs. It has been found that the range of experience or perception about a surface is much richer when seen through the visionary senses. Further, the visionary senses give us the perception based on viewing objects from a distance, which might get altered once the person touches the surface. Thus, such contrasting experiences provide a designer with the opportunity to provide richer and various kinds of experience to people related to various surfaces by selecting different materials (Boyce 2003). Example 12: A grotto under Margate in the UK Photo credit: Grotto in Margate World of Interiors June 2004, Photographer. Bill Batten The rough textural qualities of the structure may not be understood while seeing it from a distance. At places, the texture might seem smooth as well, as can be seen in the first picture. However, a closer look at the wall would reveal the texture of the wall clearly. Further, touching the wall may change the perception generated through the visionary sense. The rough edges on the surface of the wall are being clearly indicated in the closer picture of the wall. Example 13: A sandstone wall in a building in Miiraflores in Spain Photo credit: Terry Purcell One of the important building materials that are being used by architects to provide a textured look to the building is sandstone. In the above photograph, the textured look being accorded by the use of sandstone is clearly illustrated. The individual stones used in the building have varied shape and size and is even laid in a very irregular manner. These features along with the rough surface of the stones create a very strong textured surface as well. Reflection The intensity of the light emitted from a source can be measured from the surface where the light source has illuminated it. It is possible to measure the light that is being reflected back from the surface and it is through this light which helps in determining the appearance and perception about the surface that is being illuminated by the light source (Osterhaus 2002). One may not be able to see the source of the light unless and until one decides to directly look at the source. However, as the intensity of the light emitting from the source may often be ambiguous and therefore, it might not be possible to decide on how the surface is being illuminated by the light source. In order to understand this concept in a better manner, a series of photographs is being analysed, with the first set of pictures providing sensors and light meters placed on the table surface. Two different kinds of lights settings are being used: high and low. The left pair of the pictures has low intensity lighting, while the right pair has higher intensity of lighting. Three pairs of pictures are being compared, with different surfaces on the table, ranging from wood to tablecloths (Veitch et al. 2004). Pair no. 1 Pair No. 2 Pair No. 3 Pair No. 4 Photo credit: Sowerby Smith While analysing the readings from the light meters, it has been found that the readings were similar for every surface however it differed with the change in light intensity. In the photographs given below, the light meters are being positioned in such a manner that the light being reflected from the surface could be measured. Pair No. 5 Pair No. 6 In case the readings from each of these pairs are being analysed in the above positions, it is being noticed that the light intensity has changed which means that the light being reflected from the surface is more. This is much more apparent in the close up picture of the dial on the light meter, except for the pictures where the table is being covered in table cloth of dark blue color. In this case, the pointer is pointing towards the upper end of the dial, indicating low intensity of light. Conclusion The above study of various examples of inter-relationship between light and surfaces indicate that a designer or architect needs to have good understanding and knowledge about the science of light, how a material behaves in light and about the perceptions of humans related to various surfaces, textures and objects in order to create important designs and blend them with the surroundings in an effortless manner. Further, such a study of light also provides knowledge about the aesthetic qualities of interlacing light with objects, as well as providing health and safety benefits. The human perception about buildings, the concern about environment and the quest to create aesthetic buildings are major motivating factors in using lights in a major way in today’s architecture. 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Veitch, JA, Tosco, AM, and Arsenault, CD 2004, ‘Photometric Issues in Healthy Lighting: Research and Application,’ In: Proceedings of Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) (2004). Proceedings of the CIE Symposium '04, Light and Health: non-visual effects, 30 September – 02 October, Vienna, Austria, CIE-Report x027:2004, pp 146-149. Read More