Gesamtkunstwerk
A Total Work of Art
With the design focus placed on the self-realization of individuals, what lighting is best effective in providing the most conducive environment of creation for artists? In this project, lighting is used to establish boundaries and generate varying environments. By emphasizing the differing lighting within each space, the atmosphere created is a choice to accelerate creation. Therefore, creation becomes a product that is influenced and accelerate by the space chosen by the individual. A lack of creation can be attributed to a space's and individual's conflicting atmosphere and frame of mind. By providing varying atmospheres, individuals are able to explore their own being as a whole.
Additional Insight and Inspiration
The main design influences for this building were Alvar Aalto's Viipuri Library and Albert Speer's Cathedral of Light.
In response to Aalto's work, I wanted to create a space that provided soft lighting that would add to an art showcasing environment. However, I wanted to reiterate Gesamtkunstwerk, leading to the main fenestration being Morse Code. The fenestration reads as
K
U
N
S
T
which means "Art" in German.
As Speer defined his spaces with non-physical boundaries using light, I decided to implement the same idea. Using skylights, I defined each space to establish the differing atmosphere that each room has without physical elements.