Juhani Pallasmaa wrote that the mist and twilight stimulate the imagination. The XX and XXI century is a time of constantly increasing light pollution. The darkness that is observed in nature is currently a state that cannot be encountered in the city. At the same time, creative activities that constitute themselves through experiments in lighting are being developed. The limiting of light currently fulfils the role of an intentionally used formal measure that defines the narration of the sense of a work. Architecture exploits both light and darkness, and the interpretation of both of these categories can be performed through referring to their opposite. The author analyses the use of total and partial darkness in architecture, as well as the symbolism of light and shadow, both as opposing measures, as well as those that mutually shape the fullness of a composition.

Mgła i półmrok budzą wyobraźnię pisał Juhani Pallasmaa. XX i XXI wiek to czas postępującego  zanieczyszczenia świetlnego. Ciemność obserwowana w naturze jest dziś stanem w mieście niespotykanym. Jednocześnie rozwijają się działania twórcze konstytuujące się poprzez świetlne eksperymenty. Ograniczenie światła pełni dziś rolę intencjonalnie stosowanego zabiegu formalnego stanowiącego o narracji znaczeniowej dzieła. Architektura eksploatuje zarówno światło jak i mrok, a interpretacji każdej z tych kategorii można dokonać poprzez odniesienie do jej przeciwieństwa. Autorka bada zastosowanie ciemności i półmroku w architekturze, a także symbolikę światła i cienia, zarówno jako środków  sobie przeciwstawnych, jak i tworzących wspólnie pełnię kompozycji. 

Light and its Antinomies as a Narrative Tool in Architecture

Abstract

Juhani Pallasmaa wrote that the mist and twilight stimulate the imagination. The XX and XXI century is a time of constantly increasing light pollution. The darkness that is observed in nature is currently a state that cannot be encountered in the city. At the same time, creative activities that constitute themselves through experiments in lighting are being developed. The limiting of light currently fulfils the role of an intentionally used formal measure that defines the narration of the sense of a work. Architecture exploits both light and darkness, and the interpretation of both of these categories can be performed through referring to their opposite. The author analyses the use of total and partial darkness in architecture, as well as the symbolism of light and shadow, both as opposing measures, as well as those that mutually shape the fullness of a composition.