Light and Shadow – Design of a Church Christina Augustesen
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Attuning a design to daylight requires incorporating the animated play of shadows. Shadows as strong design elements that have yet to receive enough attention. Depending on the light incidence shadows can move, intensify, or produce different colour effects in the eye of the beholder. While artificial light is generally static and almost like a snapshot, a continually changing light ambience is alive. What is shadow? Shadow is, according to the metaphor, “a hole in the light, something absent”. The light seems to be absent, but the shadow proves the existence of light by negating it. Near shadows, light has only one direction. Shadows describe the appearance of the objects that have cast them. This leads to active moments of perception, although the shadow remains passive. The object produces the shadow, and as the object moves, the shadow changes, not vice versa. Shadows are always twodimensional; they fall onto surfaces which may well form part of a spatial arrangement. If space on a horizontal plane is not sufficient, the shadow will transfer to an inclined or vertical plane behind. Shadow does not have a predetermined direction or predefined shape, it is pliant.
light will draw a sharply outlined silhouette; diffuse light of the overcast sky hardly produces shadows at all. When daylight fades so do the shadows and the illuminated room will retain its contours. The shadows in a room are the result of sunlight passing through the window with its glazing bars, across the furniture, colours and surfaces and into the room. Shadows vary according to the position of sunlight, following in sequence. The shadows of visitors are superimposed; their shadows overlap with the shadows of the objects in the room, blending into one image. Some shadows can be calculated in advance. However, other shadows can quickly alter their shape, while always remaining a mystery to the eye; they succeed in fascinating us.
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The mystery of shadows and the quality of daylight were the source of inspiration for the design of the church in Trekroner, Denmark.
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If the shadow falls onto differently positioned surfaces, horizontal or vertical for example, a separate spatial impression is perceived in each situation. Light and darkness produce diverse spatial effects. Spaces that are alive with moving shadows will be perceived in a more differentiated manner than spaces with fixed lighting. Shadows occur fleetingly and can quickly change. The shadow follows the occurrence of light and intensifies in parallel to its expressiveness. A direct ray of sun52
1–4 Light studies using 3D computer models are an important instrument in the design process to examine different alternatives. 5 Sectional elevation facing altar 6 Sectional elevation facing organ 7 Floor plan 8 Longitudinal section
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