Amongst the most renowned representatives of this genre are British Jonathan Speirs and Mark Major. Together, they are responsible for such famous projects as the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, the Gateshead Millennium Bridge and the new opera house in Copenhagen.
In their book “Made of Light”, Speirs, Major and the architecture critic Anthony Tischhauser attempt to analyse the medium they work with and its basic qualities. The chapter headings such as Source, Contrast, Surface, Colour, Movement, Boundary and Magic immediately suggest that pure lighting engineering plays a minor part in this volume.
The three authors start by giving a short account of the history of architectural lighting; they go on to daring abstract territory. It soon becomes clear that this is somewhat problematic. How, for instance, can the interplay of light and surfaces be put into words without slipping into platitudes or delving too deeply into the details of optical physics?
The authors were obviously aware of this difficulty and therefore illustrated their book with numerous inspiring, though rather cramped photographs. Nonetheless, the book is still rather text-heavy, which does not exactly enhance its quality. Unlike the photos, the articles are seldom inspiring or even instructive. Nor are the many quotes from architects and theoreticians on the “light” theme that precede each chapter of any real help; regrettably they have not been properly integrated into the text.
“Made of Light” is therefore not a book for straight reading – it is more of an illustrated book for flicking through and putting back on the shelf. The book’s value lies in its illustrations and the occasional (and almost too seldom) excursions into fields remote from architecture. Interspersed in the chapters are quotations of representatives of different occupational groups on the “light” theme: quotes from miners, pilots, a visually impaired artist, an actor and a dentist. These comments and a few light-weight artistic statements from photography or installation art, for example, enrich “Made of Light” and make it more palatable.