We have to ask you. What is light to you? What does
it represent?
Probably the studies we did, the Masters in
Lighting in London after our architecture degree,
really changed the way we look at architecture. We
are perhaps architects who work with the mindset
of a lighting designer. We think of our spaces in
terms of the orientation and movement of the sun.
We think of spaces as being made of light, so in our
design the light comes before the envelope and the
materials of the architecture.
We often say that a space can be built with light,
because without light there is no perception of
space. So I think that light is the primary material
that we think about and on which we try to order all
the other surfaces. The architectures we design are
an example of this, because the materials can work
with light, they can return it, they can modulate it
in a useful way for the definition and quality of the
space we are going to design.
Sight is one of our main senses, but if we were to
perceive light through the sense of hearing, what
kind of music would it be for you?
Well, it could be many kinds of music, I would
answer. Also, I think the analogy is extraordinary.
G.T.
“We often say that a space
can be built with light, because
without light there is no
perception of space. So I think
that light is the primary material
that we think about and on
which we try to order all the
other surfaces.”
Architect Giovanni Traverso
As you mentioned, we get about 85% of the
information about the world around us through the
visual system, so all the other senses are really a
bit undersized compared to other animal species
where they may have extraordinary hearing and
smell and very limited vision. But the analogy is
strong because this is also the culture of light, and
we connect to the discussion we had earlier about
brands and businesses.
Light is something that needs to be modulated
because it is modulated in nature. If you walk in
a forest, you hear music: it is the light breaking in
the leaves, it is the meadow in full light, it is the
darkness of a cave, it is the firefly at night. This is
music, and when you transpose it, it is light. From
a technical point of view, it was not possible to do
much with artificial light, perhaps because of a lack
of resources. We had a tungsten bulb and that’s it;
a fluorescent bulb and that’s it. Colour temperatures
that could be dimmed and slightly cooled. Perhaps
only in the theatre, and with a great waste of energy,
could music be made of light, but only there, or
perhaps in the cinema. Following on from what I said
earlier, I believe that today light can once again be
music, can once again be modulated to be pleasant,
comfortable, stimulating, circadian in terms of our
well-being.
G.T.
Salvagnini campus, Seregno, Lombardy, 2020
Design team: G. Traverso, P. Vighy, C. Baggio,
S. Dal Bianco, E. Panza, V. Pesavento
Photo: Alessandra Chemollo
Wellbeing
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