whenlightswork

The Language of Shadows: in Asian Architectural Context

Asian Architecture is representative of how architecture is modeled after the environment, being at ease with the exterior and the Asian concept of space had often celebrated the sensuality of light in space, using light to unravel details or to layer spaces etc. In Junichiro Tanizaki’s book, he highlighted the essential balance between light and shadow, and the need for their co-existence to appreciate the aesthetics of space, reflecting the essential of how Asian traditional architecture had originally defined the relationship between light and shadow. This paper would define the relationship of shadows and architecture in the context of Asian Architectural, through a series of case-studies and translate these core concepts into modern architectural lighting design strategy.

“So benumbed are we nowadays by electric lights that we have become utterly insensitive to the evils of excessive illumination.” (Tanizaki 1977, p. 36) Modern illumination technology had advanced rapidly in recent years, fulfilling lighting concepts which were deemed impossible a few years back. This trend is further catalysed by the development of Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs), introducing the flexibility for façade lighting to vary in accordance to one’s specifications. Amidst all these developments, the sensuality of space is often neglected, as quest for better and more powerful light source become the prime objective in current lighting design methodology. Furthermore, the public often mistakenly equated the key objective in lighting design to the level of illumination, whilst balance between the lit and darkness is often ignored. With glaring brightness, the dimensional qualities of space are overwhelmed, making it visually monotonous. In ‘The Eyes of the Skin’, Pallasmaa pointed that shadow design should form sensuous, yet spaces that allow imagination to flourish. Intense brightness had removed the use of our imagination in space, eradicating visual excitement, ‘homogenous bright lights paralyzes the imagination in the same way that homogenization of space weakens the experience of being, and wipes away the sense of space’ (Pallasmaa, 2005) Also, studies in Human Perception had simultaneously proven that human need visual triggers to ignite excitement and stimulate the need to explore a space. (Nasar, 1988; Kaplan, 1983) Therefore, lighting design should not be a simplistic measurement of the quantitative aspects of light, but it should appeal to the sensuality of space. One quality of lighting design, which is often neglected, is the need to design for shadows and darkness.

Designing shadows is not a simple manner of “not lighting”, but it should be read as the sensitive choice that establish the appropriate level of darkness in light, establishing equilibrium between the illuminated and unlit, yet allowing the space to bask in a sensuous and mentally-stimulating atmosphere.  In his essay on aesthetics, “In Praise of Shadows”, Junichiro Tanizaki equated shadows with beauty, relating the aesthetics of darkness to lifestyle, architecture and even mundane daily actions. The traditional Japanese house is portrayed as an alluring alcove of shadows, whilst the use of electric lighting is seen as the bane to the beautiful, shadow-filled Japanese architecture. “And so it has come to be that the beauty of a Japanese room depends on a variation of shadows, heavy shadows against light shadows – it has nothing else.“ (Tanizaki 1977, p. 18) Though the examples Tanizaki illustrated, he had pointed out that the mystic beauty in darkness in oriental architecture fosters imagination and mental explorations.  Indeed, the design of traditional Asian spaces had unintentionally created exciting alcoves of shadows, through the intricate and unique spatial interrelationships, design strategy or appearance of textures in light. This often resulted in an exciting, yet intriguing space, fostering imagination and visual enjoyment.

Most appropriately, Juhani Pallasmaa summarized the need for balance between light and shadows, ‘Deep shadows and darkness are essential, because they dim the sharpness of vision, make depth and distance ambiguous, and invite unconscious peripheral vision and tactile fantasy.’ (Pallasmaa, 2005)  In darkness, spaces were given a fourth dimension, where spaces is not solely appreciated through visual depth created by shadows cast on textured surfaces or shadows of the lattice screen that speckled the floor, but the mental images formed through darkness in space. Thus, widening the methods to appreciate spaces, from being visually pleasing to mentally stimulating. That, perhaps, formed the design basis of the intriguingly mesmerising aspect of Asian Architectural space. “What the eyes see and the senses feel in question of architecture are formed according to conditions of light and shadow.” (Holl, S., Pallasmaa, J & Perez-Gomez, A, 2007) Therefore, light with shadows are integral to human spatial perception and good lighting design should adhere to the need in creating appropriate darkness in light, allowing users to appreciate the phenomenology of space. Yet the recent industry inclination towards excessive illumination had diluted this appreciation of the play between shadow and light. Therefore, this paper shall present on the how Asian Architecture had been designed for shadows and how these can be translated into modern lighting design methodology.