On The Aesthetic Value Of Light And Shadow In Architectural Environment

In China, lighting design is becoming an important part in urban construction. At the same time, however, unregulated and disordered lighting set-ups are turning into a no negligible phenomena. Lighting pollution has become an indisputable fact. From an opposite angle of "light", i.e. the "shadow", this research is trying to guide people unobtrusively into developing a heartfelt taste for shade through exploring the aesthetic value of "light and shadow" in architectural environment. In other words, perfect lighting designs from an aesthetic point of view in order to remedy the current" lighting pollution " situation to a certain extent.This research advances itself in a comprehensive, multi-angled and multilevel manner. It captures the objects stereoscopically by making a general survey both horizontally and vertically. In the aesthetic assessment on lighting environment, aesthetic trends and cultural transformations have been taken into account. The assessment also involves such multi-disciplinary areas as psychology, aesthetics, philosophy, culture history, architecture, art design, etc. Discussing the overall lighting environment in architecture from a macro point of view, "light " in this research is not distinguished between " artificial light" and " natural light"; In a micro way of thinking, in-depth analysis on the aesthetics that is put forward in this research has been carried out by dissecting concrete examples.Aimed at searching for the "beauty of shadow", this research first raises the necessity of analyzing the beauty of "light shadow" on its own through reflections on crises of ecology and culture. It then expounds deeply into the aesthetic significance of "light and shadow", and puts forward the aesthetic definition of "light and shadow" in architectural environment to support many viewpoints that are to be developed in this research. In terms of the visual sense (an important part of perception) and consciousness, the relationship between human aesthetic psychology and lighting has been studied. The aesthetic expression of "light and shadow" in architecture is creatively summed up in terms of natural beauty, shape beauty and conceptual beauty. Particularly, the shape beauty is further divided into three aspects in a very unique way: beauty in aspect ratio, beauty in spatial balance, and beauty in temporal and spatial harmony. From two-dimensional to three-dimensional, to four-dimensional, the appreciation of beauty on shape is clearly an aesthetic process that advancescontinuously. The viewpoint that conceptual beauty is the ultimate aesthetic expression in architectural lighting designs is supported by its richness in essence. Finally, attempts have been made to search for new ideas of lighting design in architectural environment by applying the viewpoints and results developed in this research.This thesis has put forward the aesthetic definition of "light and shadow" in architectural environment; and it also analyzes the interdependent and dialectical relationship between light and shade on a philosophical stand. In combination with the classical aesthetic psychology, the relationship between lighting and visual sense, consciousness has been explored and expounded. Based on the doctrines of the celebrated aesthetic schools, the aesthetic expression of "light and shadow" in architectural environment has been summarized. Consequently, lighting design principles in architectural environment has then proposed tentatively, in the hope of serving as a guide in practice.