Impact of Light on Health and Welfare

Justin McNair

The Interrelations of Light and Health

The human body is constantly bombarded with fluctuations between light and darkness so it is no stretch for me to believe that light would have beneficiary and deficient qualities on human health. SAD is a depression disorder caused by inadequate exposure to light, and I believe there are at least two theories as to why. For one, humans have to methods of judging light, our biological, circadian clock that is controlled by light patterns and the clock we control through standard time. I think it is reasonable to say that these two ‘standards’ of time sometimes clash, especially during the transition periods in the Spring and Fall. This creates confusion for our bodies, resulting in negative health affects. Besides the clash of circadian time and standard time, there are seasonal intensities to light patterns. In the summer there are long periods of natural light while in the winter there are short periods of natural light. This extension of polar intensities can create biological anxiety resulting in depression. Another consideration is to formulate a healthy balance between natural light and artificial alternatives because people who have been exposed primarily to artificial lighting, without easy access to day lighting, experience increased cancer rates. Furthermore, artificial sources don’t provide the wide spectrum of light patterns, as does daylight while also not assimilating the same benefits such as vitamin D gain. Our circadian rhythm relies on light patterns, hormones, and receptor cells that monitor the light patterns. When environments promote intensities in levels of light to dark ratios our bodies are thrown off balance because our bodies are stimulated by bright, white light. In the winter, we go through bright white light withdrawals and therefore cognitive activation slows and we become drowsy and depressed. In the summer, there may actually be too much stimulate light and we become cognitively sapped of energy than then leads to depression. This means that light effected health problems do exist and that it is a part of our biological being; it is consequently the work of designers and that must provide physiological alleviation through medicine and construction and a myriad of other professions.

Light Revealing Architecture

Justin McNair

The Myriad Relations between Light and Context

The perception of light and shadow is a primal experience for human kind. It is the basis for our visual environment and frames our psychological tendencies. I used to believe that to be a ‘good’ designer one ‘just’ had to be creative, edgy, and understand how to build on current trends but there is way more elements involved in the process of a designer.

What I’ve gathered from the reading is that Light has a set of variable but repetitive conditions based predominantly on location (place). In general, light changes through day and season but always comes back to revisit the same conditions next year, next season, and the next day. Due to this ritual, light creates an identity just as much as places remind us of home or smells evoke memories but it is an ethereal, inanimate identity. In this way, light not only effects our interiors; it affects our attitudes, our cultural rituals, and our social status. For example, in western suburban homes we have ‘decorative’ shudders that are hardly even noticed because temperate weather conditions, blinds, and mechanical heating allow us to live comfortably without needing shudders and therefore become a superfluous design element. However, in Italy, a warmer climate and local traditions allow and dictate the use of three layers of shutters to control natural ventilation and light. This is a condition where both place and culture determine the control of light and its identity.

Adjacent to this notion of light identity, I have coined my own term called ‘cultural light’: the way light creates relationships with people between geographies that distinguish separate philosophies on how light is handled in these separate environments. This relationship between light and culture is impacted heavily by climate. The reading discussed the different perceptions of light in Western and Eastern cultures and this was definitely affected by climate conditions, the resources to control that climate, and differing philosophies. For example, I believe that Westerners compare light with clarity, vision, equality, and freedom in both the figurative and literal sense; we admire these qualities in our culture so we strive to emulate our beliefs and therefore maximize light sources. Where as, in my limited understanding, Easterners strive for simplicity and what is necessary and comfortable in life, not because they are simple people but because they find beauty and reason in simplicity. In this manner, light is a facet of life that doesn’t necessarily hold symbolic virtue but is an element of function and since they strive to stay balanced they focus on the shadows produced by light.

Time is light’s compass and prison because time is an invention of man’s need to create organization. In this regard, time makes light predictable and repetitive, allowing us to manipulate the spectrum and intensity of light if we understand the beat of time. This is evident even in ancient societies with landmark sundials like Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza. These dials became methods of control and permanence, they allowed civilizations to coordinate and grow. In modern times, I think we undermine the sway time has on light. Instead we focus on ‘modern’ solutions, what technology offers because it is man-made versus nature. It feeds our own genius and ego so we look to new solutions to what could be solved with primordial elements. However, there are those few buildings that transcend beyond function and become sundials themselves. A great archetype comes from the classical world in the rotunda of the Pantheon. This building provided more than just the function for worship, it contained the whole universe through the eye in the dome, cascading focal light with the pattern of day until it came full circle. In this regard, Time allows us to see light as a changing variable but on the same token as a permanent entity never leaving but always shifting form.

While light has subtle variations that go obliviously unnoticed, our true recollection of light occurs only when we have drastic fluctuations where there is either too much or too little, and this is where the task falls into place. Our ability to be able to preform task is, to my knowledge, the only reason we care about light, for if we were bats we would little depend on the quality of light. The relationship between light and task is one that would seem the most variable for human conditions. There are countless functions and conditions that apply to our needs many within the same room. We need to consider what time we occupy these rooms or spaces, what functions occur at what time, how long we spend there, and multiple other possibilities in order to be able to manipulate the light for the task. This is where the advent of electric lighting allowed us to improve task lighting. A great example of myriad relationships between light and the task are seen in the complex lighting schemes of restaurants. For instance, there is a vast ambient source of electric task lighting in the kitchen and in pod areas for staff, red tinted, dim over head lighting for booths and tables to create a warm, private atmosphere without making the food look cold, recess and hidden lighting at the bar to evenly distribute light without the glare, even shiny or metallic surfaces to refract light to improve light volume. All these minute considerations must be handled in order to produce a comfortable environment, and they begin with the foundation of light and function.

Light is such a multi contextual realm that it is hard to pin point and perfect it’s subtleties in every given situation. In order to truly understand light you can not separate it from each relationship it identifies with because light is constantly connected to time, place, culture, and task. However, the basis of knowledge is learning from the individual process, for one can not understand the universal without first breaking down the individual, just like polymers break down into monomers and build themselves back up to something the body can use so our mind needs to take information in incremental steps to understand the big picture.

Shroeder House Board and Model

Friendly Assessment of Shirley Bircher

Shirley, I enjoyed the energy circulating your design for St. Mary’s. I think you really took a risk in the idea of a room divider made up of metal fins but it was a creative risk that really became the focal point of your presentation, and what is design without a sense of exploration and playfulness? One idea I would challenge you to explore is how a sculptural room divider can also become a functional unit within a space, after all, as designers, we are artists with purpose, to delight but also to fulfill. For example, what if these metal fins could also slide on a system of wheels or wall hinges so that they become, in a way, partition walls. They could create additional, more intimate spaces divided by metal screens or they could slide out as creative, discrete storage units that didn’t impede on the space.

Through your main perspective with the flowing fins hugging the staircase it made me think of my trip to Chicago during spring break. Take a look at the staircase/ramp of the McCormick Tribune Student Center designed by Rem Koolhaas on the campus of IIT in Chicago. I believe it combines function with a sense of dynamic playfulness, which is lost in most design that is concerned solely with the function of the space.

Furthermore, your use of color was quite impressive, especially in the stained glass window but put more emphasis on light and shadow so the images don’t appear flat. Sometimes this means brushing a few more strokes of the gray marker. Personally, I prefer using graphite pencils to add shadow with a white colored pencil for highlights and blend with a tissue. Color pencils are by far your friend when it comes to adding depth to your color range. In my experience, markers usually provide the base coat for a color maybe with a layer or two of a gray marker but then it is all up to color pencils, graphite pencils, and especially a white colored pencil. Also, if you want to go for a sketchy look, freehand pen lines over the more tight pencil lines you have as the outline of your perspective, it helps to layer these lines and provides a loose energy.

WI(10) : Memoirs of Jenga...

Before I get started I want to thank you both for being such great professors you gave me hell and headaches but it was all well worth the fight and it proves I am that much more of a designer.

Claire I want to thank you, I truly admire and commend you for your decisiveness and preparation, you truly were a co-instructor, always having an answer for us when Patrick was away or engaged elsewhere. You will make a great teacher and I wish you the best!

Patrick, your unfailing humor, enthusiasm, and faith in us (along with an endless supply of Starbucks) were one of the few treasures that got me by this semester. Because of your studio, my craft, understanding, and leadership have significantly improved and I hope down the road you will be teaching 3^rd or 4^th year studio.

At the beginning of this semester the two of you were so intimidating, but now, in place, is only a deep level of respect. Thank you!

P.S. This isn’t a bribe to get a better grade I just want to make sure you read this before you get sucked into my time warp of word phrases and run-ons. Enjoy! J

Writing……is a hard skill to master. It is a process of internal reflection requiring one to escape the physical distractions of everyday life and materialize their thoughts. These thoughts, though elusive at times, have been following me this whole semester thanks to the constant flow of writing assignments. Through this journey of words, I have learned that writing is an idea processer, allowing me to channel thoughts into cohesive ideas, into illuminating experiences. Where sketch up unfolds models, where modeling perfects craft, where photoshop and illustrator enhance digital prowess, writing sharpens the analytical reflection that gives design meaning. I noticed early on that writing helped understand a space, building, and place conceptually and if I could understand the structure conceptually I could articulate key elements verbally while also highlighting these elements throughout the design process if caught at an early stage. This advantage became prominent in the justification of the site choices during Jenga 6.0 and 7.0. By exploring aspects of a site, I was able to conceptually form an opinion and idea about how the structure would develop and merge from the context. If I have learned anything this semester, it is to read everything within the context in which it was gathered and formulated from. People prefer visuals because they are faster to ‘read’, provide instant information, and often times illustrate displays of illusion. But writing is a much more keen and agile art. It relies on subtleties, persuasion, and description. I discovered this not in the writing assignments but through my role as group leader in Jenga 7.0. As a leader, it is important to keep colleagues organized and focused but also inspired and encouraged. Through a myriad of emails and group meetings, I learned that this meant to constructively criticize followed by a compliment of recent work or an understanding sentiment where other members had been less patient. Being a leader takes on many forms, from being a babysitter to a peace keeper to a role model, much like writing can influence different audiences depending on which way it is read. In a way, having been a group leader is ironic. I have always thought I worked more efficiently by myself, and perhaps this remains true, but after fulfilling that role I feel a sense of accomplishment in being able to guide a collection of minds to an organized yet very energetic design. I believe that writing was the foundation for my leadership and that my ability to empathize with other’s frustration mixed with the ability to articulate my thoughts, and at times, their thoughts truly worked in favor for our team.

Another important aspect I have learned and built upon is the power of body language and its close relation to writing. Patrick and Claire, you pointed out that I am ‘King of the Smirk” and this comes as no coincidence. I have been building upon this smirk ever since I was in high school. It has many connotations. It can mean a polite rejection, an amusing understanding, an ‘I know something you don’t’ impression, a friendly gesture, a boyish playfulness, many times it’s a combination; it just depends on the situation. Overall though, this smirk is my general outlook on design and life, as in most cases I can hardly control it as you well know. Yet, I believe this smirk and my general ‘spacey’, somewhat reserved persona say a great deal about how my writing and design process function. I have learned that my spacey character is actually one of my strengths as a designer, allowing me to reflect on people’s emotions and extract ideas that they have trouble finding within themselves. Yet this also allows me to move frequently into outer body experiences, where I tune people out to enable my own thought processes to emerge where the majority of my creative writing surfaces.

What is odd to me though is that my favorite experiences this semester was when I worked individually and when I worked in a group of twelve, not in between. I don’t know if this was because I felt a sense of control in both situations, working individually and then being a group leader for a team of twelve or if it concerns the balance of designer strengths. Maybe you have some insight on this? Regardless, I felt that the energy permeating both situations was positive and creative, which motivated me to excel.

This entire semester has been a series of achievements one after the next. There is not a single project I regret or feel as though I didn’t accomplish something, whether it was what I wanted to or not. I have grown conceptually, craftily, digitally, communicatively, empathetically, even physically for that matter, though I think I lost muscle tone…. On a serious note, my crowning achievement is the realization that I own leadership skills I didn’t know I possessed, that I am not just the quiet beach boy with a level head, good craft, and a crooked smile. Even more importantly, leadership taught me to own the self-confidence I have on the inside and share a piece of that with fellow colleagues.

Synergy, what a positive energy!

Jenga 7.0 was a merge between two groups, Symbiosis and Pinnacle. Symbiosis focused on the interplay of angles and curves explored within our groups of three through complicated angled facade detailing emanating from our stairwells with enormous sail-like curves protruding from either corner to encapsulate and stabilize the structure. Pinnacle focused on the merging of the team of six's individual concept words through a series of stratified tilts and twists culminating in an illuminating 'pinnacle'.

Synergy is the firm of twelve individuals, with 12 different concepts, and 12 different approaches to design, collaborating to create a structure that speaks to the language of our concepts, mind sets, and goals. This philosophy led us to a structure that transcends the notion of the box with a central core of twisting hexagons that tilt at a 15 degree angle every two levels for 19 levels. These hexagons house the public circulation for our structure with open catwalks that radiate outwards from the centralized elevator shaft. Permeating from these hexagons are three wings of private units with semi private reception halls, allowing residents to enjoy layers of privacy.

The interior provides a very contrasting experience to the exterior, which is veneered with a blue tinted glass curtain wall with exposed structural x framing coated in a terra cotta tinted fire insulator. The exterior speaks directly to the vast expanse of the lake reservoir it overlooks, on the Pantano de Sau. The terra cotta x framing echoes subtly the earth tones of the surrounding cliff bed rock, but is a minor detail representing the solidity of land that carries and encapsulates the lake, similar to the way our curtain wall is nestled in a cage of x framing. The tilts and twists made blatantly clear on the exterior are a visual continuation but not replica of the stratification of cliffs leading from the lake to the site of our building. On the other hand, the interior offers distinct areas of open vistas with sheltered niches. The hexagonal circulation spaces are completely exposed through the glass curtain wall but the private units are made of steel and a stucco veneer. So as one circulates through the building, these wings of radiating private unit impede on outside views until one enter the private units themselves that have windows exposing panaramic views of the site. Furthermore, the x framing impedes and opens certain vantage points as one circulates the catwalks. This sense of exposure and isolation can be seen within the environment of this site, through the vast expanse of the lake contrasting the density of the terrain speckled with greenery, cliffs, and wildlife.

This structure is all about accentuating aspects of the site but exaggerating them in a very bold manner and in a way that intermingles each members concept.

Site Justification

In merging the conceptual frames of both Pinnacle and Symbiosis, it was imperative that the context speak to many factors throughout the design process. This included aspects from local materials that blended seamlessly with the environment to the spatial tectonics and form, which emulates individual features within the environment to create a cohesive whole. Collectively, the group decided on a site located 20 miles northeast of a small Spanish community known as Vic on the elevated outskirts of the water reservoir at Pantano de Sau. This location is a seasonal retreat in a temperate climate overlooking a spectacular natural terrain, which allows for ideal all-year residency. Furthermore, local quarries near this lake reservoir allow the use of local materials, promoting a sustainable design practice while also complimenting and accentuating the natural tones and hues of the surrounding landscape. Our structure, having a centralized core with stratified layers of tilting private units, speak to the natural layout of the environment that houses an open, centralized lake nestled in a forest of stratified cliffs. While the form continues this stratified topography rippling from the lake, our building further emphasizes this experience with a large open atrium with three symmetrical glass entrances permeated by solid shells of private units, creating a central ripple effect. This experience captures both moments of open clarity and intimate shelters, emulating similar experiences present around the site. For example, as one walks in through the main entrance facing the lake, the viewer is immersed with the view of an enormous glass curtain wall reflecting the dominance of the open lake while divided by tilting rows of exposed structural x framing coated with a terracotta tinted fire insulator, which provides visual barriers of shelter that echoes the natural terrain. Yet as one crosses into the atrium domain, there is still a sense of open disclosure but the private units encapsulate and define the spatial configuration, creating the visual perception of a more intimate setting. As one continues to the upper levels and ambulates around the three wings of private units, there is more awareness to this sense of intimacy in the way that private units tilt and twist to create awnings and platforms that impede certain vantage points. Walking into the individual units themselves offers the most privacy and refuge but as one reaches the pinnacle of our building the ambient experience of light and open vistas is aggressively revisited and displayed, bringing the structure back to where it began. The gateway portal faces a northeast axis overlooking the lake so that the soft morning light permeates the glass filtered entrance and gently greets the residence. This experience is further enhanced by the reflective tendency of water, which acts as a tranquil augmenter of light. The other entrances face south and west, providing different moments and opportunities of light for private residence. The west axis is articulated with one wing of private units and a glass entrance facing the edge of the lake and landscape, which greets the final blaze of the sunset at the day’s end.

Shroeder House

This is a replica of the Shroeder House designed by the architect Gerritt Rietveld, famous also for the red/blue chair, which was actually designed for this house as well, but judging by the minimalist style and primary color palette this should come as no surprise.

This replica was created using the 3-d modeling nurbs program, Rhino, using plans and elevations exported from auto cad via illustrator. From these plans and elevation, I extruded planes to create the walls and railing while also puncturing holes to create windows.

Once, I was done building, I used one of Rhino's rendering plug-ins known as V-Ray to provide color and texture to the building. Lastly, I exported a jpeg into photoshop to add context (which needs some work), add lighting effects/lens flare, and the burn and dodge tool.

Needless to say, there were a lot of processes and computer programs needed to complete this assignment.