Light in Nature & Spirituality
What are the human needs for natural light? Why is it so important to use light in architectural design?
Light keeps things alive and growing. Humans need light not only to see, but for anything to be viewed with depth to it.
How did the introduction of steel and glass change the way architects were able to use light, and how do you still see that influence in buildings today?
Steel and glass allowed walls to open up, letting light reach deeper into buildings. Today, that influence shows up in curtain walls, large glazing, and daylight-driven designs.
This slogan was used by the government to promote modern rebuilding materials after the 1993 earthquake
“Safety at any cost”
Why was stained glass in cathedrals and use of light in temples, such as the Pantheon, so important and what is your view on it? Do you think this view of light in religious buildings is still approached the same today? Why or why not?
Christianity views God as light. Stained glass was used to draw one's attention away from the walls and to illuminated colors. The Pantheon uses the oculus to draw one's attention to the sky, heavenward.
If light is treated as a building material rather than just illumination, how does that shift the role of architecture from object-making to experience-making?
Treating light as a material shifts architecture from how it looks to how it feels. Space becomes an experience shaped by mood, time, and movement.
This house shape, commonly used in Latur’s traditional homes, actually provided maximum safety during earthquakes
A square plan
In the Eastern Approaches to light, the Buddhist/Hindu temples use light to create different emotions than the Ottoman mosques did. What was this difference and how do you think these spaces would make you feel? Why?
Light was kept out of the labyrinth of voids in a Buddhist or Hindu temple in order to symbolize death and create spiritual rebirth. Ottoman mosques were illuminated to create calm and tranquil emotions using smooth glazed tiles to distribute light smoothly.
Some modern buildings, like the Kimbell Art Museum, are designed to shape perception through light. Do you think light can communicate meaning or emotion on its own, without relying on form or ornament?
Light can communicate calm, reverence, intimacy, or openness purely through its quality, direction, and softness. In buildings like the Kimbell, light creates meaning by guiding attention and setting emotional tone, even without heavy ornament. While form still matters, light alone can carry emotional and symbolic weight and shape how a space is understood.
These roofs in the new government houses often leaked during monsoon season and were difficult to repair
Reinforced concrete roofs