Light interaction

Abstract

In the heart of a park, a path spirals up a hill. Follow it and the trees part to reveal a building halfway up. Its thick, rough walls are pulled apart at moments, allowing light and movement into the space. The path leads between the walls. The narrow passage continues in a counter-clockwise motion up a staircase, leading you towards the light; moving from opacity to transparency, darkness to light, thick to thin, and exploring the mo- ments between. The space marks the passage of time. You see sunrise, marked by three narrow slits oriented to capture the light on the Winter and Summer solstices, and Spring and Fall equinoxes. The curved walls leading from the white art glass windows cradle the light like a cupped hand. The midday sun illuminates the central core, translated through the medium of semi-circular, veneer screens. The light and wood interact, revealing what is hidden, allowing the glowing screens to illuminate the outer circle. On the opposite side of the space are similarly-oriented windows to capture the Summer, Spring, Fall, and Winter sunsets, completing the day. It is a space apart from the world into which only the light and the self may enter. The only view of the outside world is the changing sky at the center. It is a space looks at light and how it moves through, is captured by, or is reflected by material. Light changes the materials in the space, is changed by them and marks the passage of time -- days and the seasons.