The title may sound like a landscaping superhero movie, but don’t dismiss it for its melodramatic name. Call it “illuminated architecture” if it helps you to see at as a legitimate form of design.
Architecture of the night is one of architecture’s most enchanting elements. It typically refers to skyscrapers that are designed around their architectural floodlighting, and its history is a short one. The first illuminated architecture only appeared in the Twenties, so it’s barely been explored as a design component.
When Raymond Hood coined the term “architecture of the night,” he intended his readers to take day lighting just as seriously. To Hood, light exists to add dimension to flat forms, an element that is needed throughout the day.
Lighting Boldly
One of the most exciting aspects of illuminated architecture is that elements other than light can be used to carry hue across a scene in magical ways. Steam, water, and even wind are permanent parts of your palette, regardless of whether you want them to be. Ignoring them is dismissing your most radiant tool for carrying light.
Controlling Light
Contemporary architects like Richard Kelly and Cline Bernstein use LED to incorporate their buildings’ surroundings into the scene. However, more pioneering techniques are emerging. 666 Fifth Avenue is an icon of innovation. Instead of drawing its surroundings in, the lighting makes the building retreat into its landscape.
Zaha Hadid is one of the most inventive architects in the industry, particularly in terms of her use of light. When she’s not subtly painting her buildings onto the night sky, she’s using LED color to transform entire cityscapes. To Hadid, light is just one more way to apply hue and shape. That philosophy lets her give her illuminated architecture the inventiveness it deserves.
You may not have an entire city to light, but your home deserves just as much love. Contact Premier Lighting to illuminate your home with style.
