Architecture and Light: different Experiences to Investigate the Relationship Between Physical form and Visual Perception

Our work aims to present light as an instrument to study the relation between the Physical Form of objects and their Visual Perception, given the assumption that only through light, forms can be perceived. Starting from architectural examples and study cases, in this paper we’ll deepen the relationship between Physical Form and Visual Perception and their meaning within our research. Different analysis procedures, leading to heterogeneous results, were adopted within the Research Groups. Three different objects were under review in three different experiences: “The contemporary city”, “The Box” and “The Apartment”. Each methodological approach was composed of different stages: analysis, project proposal, virtual representation and physical experiences. In the first experience the contemporary city was studied starting from the first perception of its form, comparing it through a direct experience of its peculiar spaces and a zenithal vision. The attention was focused both on the relations between light designs in the single units of the city and its buildings, and on buildings and public spaces. Such analysis brought to the result that Physical Form of objects influences their Visual Perception. The Box experience was aimed at studying how natural and artificial illumination may change Physical Form of spaces. Each box, representing real building assigned to be a showroom, was modified in its Physical Form through different operations such as cutting, emptying, closing and screening. The result of such procedures, carried out and combined in different ways, was a change in the Visual Perception of the spaces. The apartment was the last experience. Such analysis brought to the identification of weak points in the Physical Forms that could be improved through minimal interventions. Such interventions allowed to better spaces perception. The use of different instruments and interpretative scales allowed to understand how light influences architectural forms and their visual perceptions. The Research Group of the Faculty of Civil Architecture of “Politecnico di Milano” is composed of: Abbassaggi Chiara, Marco Briscese, Cribiori Piermattia, Grigoletto Stefano with the cooperation of Stefania Lupi and Samuele Ferrarese.