8
pt. 1
DAYLIGHT
In Experiencing Architecture, Rasmussen says it is the quality of light, not the quantity of light, that is important in architecture. For example, the quality of light painted in a room by Vermeer is often a side lit, glancing light that contrasts richly against the shadow around it. The Woman Reading a Letter is a great example of this. The same thinking applies to sculpting the outside shapes of a building, studying how it will appear in daylight at different times of the day.
The interior of the Pantheon offers a unique form of daylighting, lit only from the very top of the
space. Since no painting or even photography does it justice, you must go there to see it for yourself, if possible.
The family room at my house is another unique form of lighting that I discovered when building a room addition to our previous house in Florida. The sunlight from the south hits a skylight on the north side of the roof at an angle and washes the north wall with south light all day long.
Woman Reading a Letter by Johannes Vermeer -- public domain
Interior of the Pantheon, Rome by Giovanni Paolo Panini -- public domain
Canaletto painted the many moods of Venice from 1725-1768 with photographic accuracy and a magical sense of light.
The Grand Canal: Rialto (detail) by Canaletto -- public domain