Women in Lighting: See the Light, Feel the Light
Monthly Column By Maria Favoino
“Architecture is the learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light.”
Sometimes I wonder how many people are engaged in the process of designing a space and how many industries are involved in its construction.
Moreover, what was the space designed for and how many different activities will be carried out in the space? Who will use it? Has the client’s brief been realised, was it built on time, to budget?
The starting point of any creative process is a white canvas to be filled with the answers to the questions I asked above, and more. The more questions that are properly addressed in the design process, the more chance we will have to carry out a successful project.
But once the space has been built, what will the users ask?
What’s left, after all the questions, is how people feel in the space. Will it be restorative or inspiring, will it be inviting, will facilitate connection or will it be all of these things? Does the “correct and magnificent game of forms assembled in the light” reveal the space, drive people through, highlight key points, inspire and motivate?
People engage when everything has been linked and assembled.
An aspirational image, used at the start of the creative process, is useful. It can convey not just materials, finishes and colour but also how the sensory experience may be interpreted.
Light plays an important role; it allows us to see. The right light allows us to feel.
A warm and enticing entrance, perhaps a shining pendant on the top of the hall, a kiss of light on a corridor wall, a well-lit desk – these are the notes of the melody of the space. The journey started and we can’t stop it, we can hope that our choices tell an inspiring story.
I’m just curious now and I have a question for you: How much of this story can you perceive from the space in which you are surrounded by now?
Maria is a member of Women in Lighting
Image: International Presbyterian Church, London by 18 Degrees