Can and in what way light influence people’s evalua- tion, perception and image of spaces? How can we de- fine lighting assessments which integrate Kevin Lynch’s methodology?

A B S T R A C T

[...] Tutte queste bellezze il viaggiatore già conosce per averle viste anche in altre città. Ma la proprietà di questa è che vi arriva una sera di settembre, quando le giornate s’accorciano

e le lampade multicolori si accendono tutte insieme sulle porte delle friggitorie, e da una terrazza una voce di donna grida: uh!, gli viene da invidiare quelli che ora pensano d’aver

già vissuto una sera uguale e d’esser stati quella volta felici.

Italo Calvino, Le città invisibili (Diomira)

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Aim and relevance. Light enables us to experien- ce the space: it is something that changes our perception of the environment we live in. We experience the every- day life within spaces, influenced by the environment conditions. Knowing how we use and perceive a space can contribute to create a useful tool for architects and town planners to guarantee quality.

Can and in what way light influence people’s evalua- tion, perception and image of spaces? How can we de- fine lighting assessments which integrate Kevin Lynch’s methodology?

Sources Overview. Kevin Lynch was the first who made a connection between psychology and environ- ment. In his book The image of the city (1960) develops a methodology to understand how people perceive, inhabit and move around in the urban landscape. He shows that urban space is not just composed by its physical characte- ristics but equally by representations in mental images.

Since every place can be described with his categories (Nodes, Paths, Edges, Districts, Landmarks), if we refer light to Lynch’s methodology we can create a light pat- tern adaptable to any spaces. For this reason, understan- ding a place is something that cannot be separated from the social science: therefore sociology is necessary to the architectural practice who wants to look at people’s ne- eds. People’s relationships can affect the space, changing it and shaping it but the links between general purpose and form of the city are usually uncertain. People choose, evaluate, behave in conducting their lives and in perfor- ming their functions in spatial environments. In many ca- ses the perceived or recognized environment is the most important one in which decision-making processes take place. Built by the sum of orientation and perception, wayfinding is that process which is fundamental for Bu- ilding a cognitive map. Furthermore consistent effects of lighting on atmosphere perception are found. Light is an instrument that effects user impressions and behaviour.

For this reason light have got always a special role both

in art and architecture: from Monet to Barragan, from

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Caravaggio to Zumthor, from Van Gogh to Kahn.

Methodology. Lynch developed a series of gene- ral performance characteristics to be able to describe, in the most general way, any kind of space (vitality, sense, fit, access, control). The first step of the methodology is to use these characteristics that determine a good perfor- mance of the city, in a sociological survey to prove the measurability and representation of architectural scale spaces. After that, having proved that Lynch’s theory are adaptable to indoor spaces, a method was performed combining both qualitative and quantitative procedures:

some measurements were carried out on the 6th floor of the Vertigo Building (Eindhoven University of technolo- gy, Eindhoven, The Netherlands). Eighteen participants were asked to wear some portable illuminance measure- ment device during an entire work-day while conducting their normal activities, and to fill in a diary indicating their movements during the day and fill in a questionnai- re – prepared on the basis of Lynch’s theory and space so- ciology - about their workspace and the device they wear.

Conclusions. After analysing and discussing all the results, the conclusions of this study indicate that a lighting assessment which integrate Lynch’s methodolo- gy exist, but it is only related to the Paths category.

The evidences from Device’s findings, show it can be pos- sible to define an Illuminance range regard to the two best images of the Path (A and B on a scale from A to F).

It was not possible to assess a specific Illuminance range

for the other categories and for all the rates; therefore,

it is luckily possible to integrate this research in order

to find a general lighting pattern adaptable to any spa-

ces described by Lynch’s categories. Nevertheless, after

approaching another study case (the analysis of a path

within the Edifici di Fisica Tecnica, University of Pisa,

Italy) and validate the truthfulness of the previous con-

clusions, is possible to state that the findings of this rese-

arch (the best Path’s illuminance ranges) could be adap-

table to any spaces.