DARK TO LIGHTan experiment in lighting design

One of the methods that we employed in the process of testing our design proposal was projection map-ping done on a phys-ical, 1:50 model of the church. Pictures show 6 different set-ups.

The visualisation illustrates the functional and emiotional division of the space, which was with the use of light.

The images above present a series of rendered images on which we have initially tested different propositions for the final lighting design idea. Picture 1 and 2 prsent a view from the top of the building and from a person’s perspective as viewed from the balcony. They lighting set up consists only of strongly diffused lamps placed on the ceiling. Pictures 2 and 3 present a set up that includes only spotlights and pictures 5 and 6 incorporate a fake ceiling idea.

Our project has a holistic approach, trying not to capture only a particular side of the old church space and convert it to something new, but to treat light as a tool that can change the whole space by creating non-structural

boundaries and defining new spatial experiences. The transition of the visitor from the dark to the bright side of the space is the backbone of our whole project. And yet the effect that we try to achieve is very minimalistic. We try to divide the space only by using light. The difference in the perception of brightness of the space is the key to that. Apart from varying the luminous flux of the light sources in the darker and the brighter side we had to take into account parameters like: how big the diffusers must be, where the spotlights are pointed to, how can the final transi-tion be achieved and lastly which are the effects primarily on the walls and sec-ondary on the floor and why. The method that we employed in order to investigate these parameters is a series of 3D renderings that gradually show and explain our findings and the design choices that follow.

Project by Mass Witt, Mikolaj Lewandowski and Orestis Gkouvas 2015