Let there be light

Illustration of ramp descending toward reflective pool, World Trade Center memorial "Reflective Absence" by Michael Arad (top) and stairwell, Yale University Art Gallery by Louis I. Kahn, photo by Grant Mudford

"No space, architecturally, is a space unless it has natural light," wrote Louis Kahn. Now neuroscientists are hoping research on the human brain might provide new knowledge about how light and other aspects of architectural settings may contribute to our well-being and creativity:

According to Fred Gage of the Salk Institute of Biological Sciences . . . new experiences and environments physically change the human brain by stimulating new connections among brain cells.

"Beyond Intuition," a new film produced by the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture, dramatizes the point with a fascinating anecdote:

Assisi street scene, photo unattributed

Before Jonas Salk's breakthrough discovery of the polio vaccine, the research in his windowless Pittsburgh laboratory was not going well. Frustrated, he traveled to an abbey in Assisi, Italy. The change of scenery had radical implications for global health.

. . . Salk later said that the "spirituality" of the architecture in his new environment had allowed him to think intuitively. These intuitions enabled him to conceive of the experiments that would later lead to the vaccine.

Meanwhile, architects have been experimenting with "the art of daylighting" for a number of years, and "the use of daylight as both an energy-efficient lighting source and an agent of increased occupant happiness and productivity has been documented in numerous case studies around the country."

Comments

[William]

These connections are too wonderful. Will the general public make the connection? Whatever. Years from now the magic of this proposed memorial will be couched in the same terms as the Salk, the British Center, et. al.

[ebtisam]

Hi
I am EBTISAM SAMI
I am preparing a master thesis on “ Healthy Buildings – analysis study about windowless office buildings effects on workers performance mood and productivity ” to get the master degree in architecture. I will be so grateful if you can send me any information with details you know about the following:
Windowless building (architectural details)
Research on: windowless offices, sunlight daylight and view effects on workers
Looking forward to receiving your early reply, I remain

Yours Architecture engineer
EBTISAM SAMI

[Sissy Willis]

Hello, Ebtisam --

Thank you so much for your note. As you can tell from my post, "the art of daylighting" is a particular interest of mine, and I congratulate you for choosing it for your master's thesis!

My own master's is in Landscape Architecture, where light is, of course, all important.

If you haven't already, you might want to contact the Salk Institute for perhaps an interview with one of the researchers working on the project referenced in the post:

http://www.salk.edu/index.php

Then, of course, there's Google. I typed "art of daylighting" into a Google search just now and came up with what looks like a good list for you to pore through:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=art+of+daylighting&btnG=Google+Search

Then, as with any Google search, one thing will lead to another.

I hope these suggestions may be of some small help to you.

[maneck]

Hi,
I am in the process of writing an essay/paper on natural lighting in the Glasgow School of Art by CR Mackintosh. I will be grateful if you can send me any information with details you know about the natural lighting in the building or similar studies/ research conducted by others on the same or other buildings.
Thank you
regards
Maneck

[Sissy Willis]

Hey, Maneck, a great topic you've chosen. I suggest you start with a Google search and move on from there to the library.