CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION BY CHRISTIAN BARTENBACH AND MOHAMED BOUBEKRI
Historical Perspective
solar access in their town planning as was apparent in the
But the architects who are designing rooms today have lost faith in natural light. By becoming dependent on the light switch they are content with static light and forget about the endlessly changing character of natural light which transforms a room each second of the day.
century, a legal precedent for solar rights was established and later was included in the Roman Justinian Code of Law. The writings of Vitruvius, the eminent Roman architect in the first century B.C., influenced architects for centuries to come, including Palladio from the Renaissance period up to the modern age. In his Ten Books of Architecture, in Book 1, Chapter 2, “The Five Fundamental Principles of Architecture”, Vitruvius wrote:
pioneered the idea of solar zoning legislation that allowed
Louis Kahn, (Stille und Licht, i.e. “silence and light“), lecture at School of Architecture of the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, Zurich, February 12, 1969).
There will also be natural propriety in using an eastern light for bedrooms and libraries, a western light in winter
The history of daylighting is the history of architecture. Sunlight has warmed human habitat since the beginning and has remained a primary factor in the design of habitations. Incorporating sunlight into structures was a fundamental design element in the buildings of many civilizations. Long ago, when buildings were illuminated by torches and fireplaces, building concepts were formulated with daylight in mind. The natural incidence of light and the transparency of a structure for natural light were essential elements in these concepts. Architecture of ancient civilizations such as those of the Persians, the Arabs, the Greeks, and the Romans featured dwellings modeled around a courtyard that welcomed natural light, tempered the harsh climate outside, and became the hub of the house. The Greeks believed in democratizing
for baths and winter apartments, and a northern light for picture galleries and other places in which a steady light is needed; for that quarter of the sky grows neither light nor dark with the course of the sun, but remains steady and unshifting all day long.1 Vitruvius, 2002
The history of daylighting is closely related to the history of technological developments of human civilization. While the Romanesque churches were dark and grim inside because of the massive load-bearing masonry walls and the short spans above their fenestration, the advent of the flying buttresses as structural features during the
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