The Structure of Light: Richard Kelly and the Illumination of Modern Architecture Study Day, September 25, 2010

I am a third year Ph.D. in architecture student at UCLA facing the critical task of defining my dissertation topic.  Even at this early stage, I know I am interested in the impact of environmental control systems on the design and cultural signification of architecture.  Therefore, I was thrilled to be awarded the Society of Architectural Historian’s “The Structure of Light: Richard Kelly and the Illumination of Modern Architecture” Study Day Fellowship.  The intensive study day, led by Dietrich Neumann, was comprised of two components: a guided tour through Neumann’s acclaimed exhibition at the Yale School of Architecture and a series of site visits to experience Kelly’s work first hand.

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The study day began at 1:00 PM with a tour of the exhibition “The Structure of Light: Richard Kelly and the Illumination of Modern Architecture,” in which Neumann summarized the history of lighting in architecture through a series of case studies.  Neumann began our tour by walking us through early examples of projects in which interiors were flooded with unrestrained light and the tops of skyscrapers beamed.  Then he presented a selection of Kelly’s 300 projects to illustrate how the refined use of light created unique environments and altered the forms of buildings.  Last, the tour of the exhibition concluded with Neumann walking us through a series of recently completed projects, in which the employment of light resulted in textured and/or interactive facades.  After making our way through the exhibition, we understood the conditions in which Kelly formed his career and subsequently impacted architectural design.

Around 3:00 PM we took a break to enjoy coffee and the bird’s eye views of New Haven from the roof of the YSOA.

By 3:30 we inspected the placement of lights and pipes throughout the distinctive, triangulated ceiling of the Yale Art Gallery’s lobby.  We learned the lighting system designed by Kelly incorporated lights, fabricated by Edison Price, that were tucked out of site in the floating tetrahedral ceiling.  However, since the original lighting design did not fill the gallery spaces or light the art as hoped, the system was replaced.  The current lighting scheme uses drop-down lights floating along tracks that are threaded through the ceiling hollows.

At 4:15 we walked into the Yale Center of British Art.  As soon as we entered the lobby, I was stunned by the clarity of the diffused natural light that emanated from the rectangular grid of skylights.  Due to these natural light fixtures, the light remained even and vibrant (but never too strong) as we walked from the foyer into the galleries filled with exquisite paintings.  Kelly, in collaboration with Kahn, succeeded in using as much natural light as possible to fill the space without ever distracting the viewer from the collections with hotspots and shadows.

At 6:30 we stepped onto Philip Johnson’s forty-seven acre residence in New Canaan.  Upon our arrival it was light outside.  As we processed through the landscape along the circular driveway, I was astonished by the size of the property and the diversity of architectural styles.  I never saw photographs of Johnson’s deconstruction meeting house, post-modern gate, library without even a path leading to it, chain-link tribute to Frank Gehry, or art and sculpture galleries.  As the sun set, my attention shifted from Johnson’s experiments in style to his Glass House.  The house literally transformed from being a single, open space partitioned from nature through the use of reflective glass to a series of small spaces designated by low pools of light.  What is more, the glass becomes truly transparent, to the point you can see through the building without the interference of reflections, only at night (as a matter of fact, I had to circle the house numerous times before I could find a single location in which I could catch my reflection).

I failed to mention, we were sipping wine and toasting to Kelly as we were experiencing the glass house and its lighting…  as if it was not enough to be there after the sun set.

Around 9:30 we arrived at the Four Seasons’ bar located within the Seagram Building in New York City.  Neumann was especially enthusiastic as he described Kelly’s contribution to the design of the lobby’s lighting and materials, as well as the atmospheric effects produced within the magical restaurant.  And of course we had to experience the bar firsthand, which is where the tour ended with many of the participants sipping cocktails in Kelly’s light.

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Having the privilege of participating in the study day provided me with an opportunity to both understand how other scholars are approaching questions concerning lighting systems as well as to acquire specific knowledge about the history of lighting in the United States.  Moreover, since ephemeral lighting effects are no doubt best understood through direct experience. Visiting the buildings on the tour enabled me to make direct observations about responsive lighting systems in action, to better understand their placement, the amount and type of light they produce, their effects on the use of space, the aesthetic of the lighting systems, and the light’s role in the construction of the gestalt architectural image.