BULGARIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON ILLUMINATION (BNCI)

XIV NATIONAL CONFERENCE WITH INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION

"BULLIGHT 2010"
10-12 June 2010, Varna, Bulgaria
Marija PAVLII1, Sanja STEVANOVI2, Aleksandra MARINKOVI3

LIGHT PHENOMENA IN THE PERCEPTION

OF SACRAL ARCHITECTURE
Abstract
Shelter and natural light are fundamental elements of architectural space. Architectural space was
defined in so many ways and through different approaches, but one fact was always the same it has to
produce a strong and clear message in order to be properly understood and accepted. Light deals with
creative and sometimes spiritual interaction between man-made and natural worlds. Light illuminates and
animates. The spiritual and mysterious qualities of light are important elements of religious symbolism in
church architecture.
In this research, examples of sacral architecture have been analyzed, among which particular uses,
perception and clear observation of light, contributing to understanding of the perceived quality. As a border
between two surfaces, edge is a necessary condition for the dramatic perception of light-shadow, but the
appearance of surface colour makes a unique mystical atmosphere in sacral architectural spaces. Visual
composition achieved by the principle of light-shadow causes the aesthetic perception of satisfaction and
psychological balance in viewers cognition.
Modern churches applies artificial light already in the phase of design as a tool of highlighting. It has to
be paid attention to the fact that artificial light has a modifying effect on our sense of time, and it is an
essential medium for setting the stage of transcendent architectural design.
Key words: natural light, sacral building, perception, shadow, illumination, harmony, interior space,
contrast, artificial light

Introduction
The source of life is of course sunlight. Shelter and
natural light are fundamental elements of architectural
space.1 Louis Kahn [3] said: No space is really
architectural space unless it has natural light and Le
Corbusier went as far as saying that architecture is the
wise, correct and magnificent play of volumes collected
together under the light. This allows us to understand the
historical interdependent concept of architecture and light.
There are many reasons for the renewed interest in natural
light, but perhaps even more important are the aspects of
daylighting which relate more to the human spirit.
A natural light is free and unlimited. On natural light
colours are real, the shapes of objects are clear, and
impression of space depth is given by different relations
between light and the shadows. Light allows us to define
what is around us, by day and night: the changing
perception of the things or the bodies on which it impacts,
and the space that contains them [2].

Lao-Tse`s, an ancient Chinese philosopher, said that architecture is not four walls and a roof; it is also,
and above all, the air that remains within, the space that these enclose. [6]

Natural light in architecture

Natural light is the crucial part of the process of mans
perception of environment and his ability of understanding
and using it. Light gives us the ability to identify our
surroundings within the changing perspectives of things
that it touches. It defines the space that is contained within
the things it impacts. It is a factor of the configuration of
architectural space that can be defined in so many ways
and through different approaches, but one fact was always
the same it has to produce a strong and clear message
in order to be properly understood and accepted. The
architects always wanted to take advantage of natural light
as far as possible. The proper use of light enhances the
space while bad light degrades it. Interior light must
provide a pleasant environment, but also psychological
and physiological well-being [4]. Light, or absence of light,
can also transform some space in each season, each day
of the year, each hour of the day, each moment. Light
effects depending on [8]: material transparency, color,
texture, and orientation to the light; the quality and quantity
of light that hits a material; and the overall arrangement of
the space and the viewers position in it.
In sacral architectural space light is an essential
medium for setting the stage of transcendent architectural
design. Light deals with creative and sometimes spiritual
interaction between man-made and natural worlds. Light
illuminates and animates. The important elements of
religious symbolism in church architecture are spiritual and
mysterious qualities of light. Partnership between light and
architecture can happen deliberately or it can be purely by
chance that the two complement each other so well. For
example, the Pantheon in Rome shows that when light
and architecture are used together in harmony it can transform a spatial context. The light
can help to enlarge a space or make it look smaller, creating the sense of mystery or
simply highlighting aspects of the space that is interest.
Lighting principles of sacral buildings
Sacral building, the first of all, is a place that must provide a degree of symbolism,
and the architecture is using the natural light as a mainly tool. From the Menhir to the
cosmic complex of Stonehenge in England, worshipping light and the astronomic
perception in Ancient times to the precise light of Classical Greek architecture, the light
that is distilled as it passes from the outside to the interior of Roman architecture.
Continuing with the divine light of spaces devoted to the liturgy, the protective light that
inclines people to meditation in Romanic architecture, the supernatural light through
stained glass windows in Gothic architecture, the humanised light of the Renaissance, the
sublime light of the Baroque period. Furthermore, the fluid light that allows us to use glass
enclosures in contemporary architecture, which almost manages to eliminate the
difference in light between the interior and the exterior. Evidently, windows do more than
let in light through glass or transparent material. In early sacral architecture, such as the
Pantheon, holes were left in the roof admitting rain as well as light. (Fig. 1.) The apparently
floating dome in a renaissance church is a familiar and readily explicable example of

dematerialization. It convinces people they have entered an alternate reality in which

familiar rules such as the laws of gravity can be bent. Anyone can experience
dematerialization any time that light strikes a surface.
Sacral buildings may be classified into two main
categories on the basis of the believers attitude to God (or
gods) [5]. One of them is built to serve as The House of
God in the sense that profound thoughts should be born in
its interior and that the one who enters should feel it to be
the sphere of the transcendent on earth. The Christian
archetype of that first kind is the sacral building of the age
of the Reformation. The other type is not created in order to
promote the relationship of God, but to express the
admiration of humankind for God, almost as a kind of
sacrifice.
The internal and external application of light in sacral
buildings may have several interpretations 2: indirect use
when light (natural light filtering) serves to highlight an
emphatic element of the interior (sculpture, painting, a
specific area, etc.). Here light is applied in a more or less
concentrated and indirect way. The sizing and arrangement
of transparent panels with the aim of encouraging
meditation and introversion is another instance of the
indirect use of lighting. (Fig. 2.) Examples of direct use may
primarily be found at communities that worship light or the
sun. There are a remarkably wide scale of lighting
techniques making use of the annual shift in both the
direction and the intensity of daylight as well as the daily
cycle of changing lighting conditions from sunrise to sunset.
In the early days when Christian congregations were
housed by residential buildings, which were later modified
through the enlargement o f their interior, the size and
arrangement of windows was obviously generally the same
as for the rest of the residential buildings.
The typically early Christian catacomb atmosphere
left its mark on sacral buildings for centuries to come. The
vaulted space, which was in some places brightly
illuminated, had the psychological effect of the cave or a
similar building serving to protect our primaeval instincts.
Generally speaking, the Ravenna school was the first to
handle lighting, the structure of the building, the
arrangement of doors and windows and also ornamentation
in a perfectly balanced and harmonious manner. The
atmosphere of the interior is further enhanced by colours
and patterns and it brings to mind the lights of the night.
Although the technical and artistic methods applied still
resemble the architecture of the age of catacombs, the quality and nature of decorative
elements signals already at these early buildings the birth of a new school. It was in the
golden age of Ravenna as the first appearance of glory, came to be represented. The
symbolism of the glory serves well to explain the characteristics of the interior of sacral
buildings: the originally sharp contrast between light and shadow evolved through time into
2
Richard Kelly identified three types of light: ambient luminescence or graded washes, focal glow or
highlight, and the play of brilliants or sharp detail. The great variety in architectural concepts of sacral
buildings produces. [7]

even lighting virtually devoid of contrast. The application of a large number of small
windows was a novelty that was first seen in purely Byzantine architecture. (Fig. 3.) The
arrangement of windows was independent of the points of the compass and generally
followed a circular pattern or one with at least two axes of symmetry. The structural
knowledge of the Roman period would already have facilitated of more openings in the
walls for the sake of lighting. The fact that it was not the case is mainly attributable to the
impossibility of heating huge sacral spaces, the rare application of glazing and the function
of church buildings as strongholds.
Gothic architecture discovered a new and
homogeneous structural system with the application and
development of the pointed arch and the ribbed groined
vault. It used a skeleton of graceful supports bearing
relatively light vaults to envelope a tidy arrangement of
large, soaring spaces and flood them with light. The
openings were remarkably big and they were glazed in
colour. Though the orientation of the church with regard to
the compass, seemed to impose a limitation on the lighting
effects of the interiors, the application of a great variety of
structural as well as decorative elements helped to soften
this strict system of light direction creating a unique artistic
lighting effect for each building. Gothic cathedral reveals
mystical world where sunlight behind stained glass
brought scenes from the Bible to real life. Gothic interiors
are light and airy today, but in fact they were intended to
be dark and mystical. Instead of the deep blues, fiery reds
and bright yellows that made up the original panels, many
replacement panels are clear [8]. They transmit more light
into the interior allowing visitors to see the stone as
foreground instead of exclusively as a background. The
cathedral in Reims is so much brighter inside because it is
fitted with almost clear replacement stained glass panels
(Fig. 4.); the cathedral in Chartres still has its thick, dark
original stained glass panels. (Fig. 5.)
In the age of the Renaissance fine art of religious
orientation appeared, to be in striking contrast with the
internal lighting and architectural arrangement of the
buildings. (Fig. 6.) Contrast is evident between the
mathematically accurate designing of the incoming light
and the pieces of fine art using colours with extraordinary
impulsiveness. Light is often the only applied element that
allows a relatively easy recognition of almost all forms. Between the geometrical forms and
the angularity of arrangement, light represented Renaissance softness and bore a slight
reference to the characteristic and extremely effective lighting in the Baroque, which was
from a single direction and therefore instantly intelligible.
In the artistic eras before the Baroque light surrounding holy figures was represented
in a way that may be termed general and almost dogmatic. The Baroque brought about a
diversion in the representation of the glory: it was shown differently across regions and
decades by each artist. Beside the explicit and often colourful Byzantine circles, and the
similarly explicit images of the Renaissance, which were already softer in outline and finer
in tone, three representations of Baroque origin and almost exclusively typical of that era
came to be dominant. It was the golden glory of irregular contour radiating in all directions
is especially typical of sculptures but also present in paintings and it gave an effect of the
bright rays of the rising sun around the faces of saints.

Artificial light in sacral space

Although the relationship is being looked at from a different angle, artificial light in
particular can change and develop sacral architecture. The necessity for the quality and
the type of artificial light to be applied all present problems at modern sacral buildings.
True, most of them uses natural light as a tool of artistic emphasis or even as a piece of art
in itself, thus the interior does not require artificial light. On the other hand, another modern
churches applies artificial light already in the phase of design as a tool of highlighting. The
various concerts as well as ecclesiastic, national, communal or family holidays housed by
the churches may all require their own design of lighting. Other sacral buildings apply
artificial light not so much as a tool of artistic expression but as an indispensable
instrument of architectural form, the lack of which would make internal space insignificant.
Special attention has to be paid to the fact that artificial light has a modifying effect on
our sense of time. The power of regeneration may best be consciously expressed and
artistically represented through the proper, dynamic use of natural light, while the
subjective sense of time slowed down in the sixth dimension may be characterised by the
application of static artificial lighting. (Fig. 7.)
Conclusion
Light is a fundamental and inseparable part of architectural conception. Every
architect had to know how to break the wall and use the light as the most important
constructive element. Visual composition achieved by the principle of light-shadow causes
the aesthetic perception of satisfaction and psychological balance in viewers cognition.
The use of natural light determines the whole concept of using light in all its positive ways
to create a soothing and curing ambience of sacral buildings. This research discusses
different ways in which light changes architectural sacral space through the history, fooling
the eye and sparking the imagination. As a border between two surfaces, edge is a
necessary condition for the dramatic perception of light-shadow, but the appearance of
surface colour makes a unique mystical atmosphere in sacral architectural spaces. This
paper has tried to illustrate the importance of natural light in terms of the past history of
architecture and in its relevance in terms of the modern churches.
Today, the great variety in concepts, structural design and the choice of materials no
longer permits broad statements concerning the analysis of natural lighting. It is important
to note the significance of natural light in sacral architecture, as it clear that light has
always been considered during structural decisions. Above all, light is the only material in
architecture that cost nothing, but means everything.

References
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Fig. 2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jup3nep/1311784736/ Accessed May 12. 2010.
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Marija Pavlii, graduated engineer of architecture, teaching assistant, State University in Novi
Pazar, Department for technical and technological sciences, Study program in architecture, Vuka Karadia
st. bb; Novi Pazar, Serbia, E-mail: mpavlicic@gmail.com
2

Sanja Stevanovi, graduated engineer of architecture, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture,
Aleksandra Medvedeva st. 14/111; Ni, Serbia, E-mail: sanja_stevanovic@yahoo.com
3

Aleksandra Marinkovi, graduated engineer of architecture, Faculty of Civil Engineering and

architecture, Aleksandra Medvedeva st. 14/111; Ni, Serbia, E-mail: alexytea@yahoo.com