ROLE OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING IN EMPHASIZING THE ENTRANCE APPROACHES

Authors

Maged Youssef, Associate Professor, Faculty of Architecture, Design and Built Environment, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, LebanonFollow

Abstract

Building's entrance is metaphorically a threshold between two realms, the first is an outdoor exposed to climatic change, hazards, and environmental factors, while the second is controlled, monitored, and determined to certain functions. It plays an important role in enriching users' experience. Moreover, it is the first impression a visitor takes to evaluate a whole building. Architecturally, the entrance is a very special part in the elevation, distinguished and emphasized by different design approaches. One of these approaches is using lighting. There is a direct connection between recognition of a space and light assimilation in it. From sunset to dawn, the artificial lighting plays a role in drawing attention to texture, colours, and forms of external elevations, which supports architecture to achieve its purpose. This paper sheds the light on the problem of architects' failure to manage an entrance perception due to insufficient light integration, over illumination, or weak transition from space to another. Many architects consider the entrance as a challenging task, because they believe that it has a direct impact on visitors' perception. This paper, therefore, aims to propose design methods to emphasize the entrance of buildings at night through using the proper artificial lighting. To achieve this aim, the paper used a scientific methodology, based on tracing literature review about design of entrances, investigating ideas of entrances' emphasis, and then analysing four case studies trying to identify the different design approaches of their entrances and how the location, direction, and intensity of illumination became a part of their nocturnal architectural elevation. As a conclusion, techniques of lighting entrances contribute in perceiving architecture’s true purpose and raise the aesthetic dimension of the building at night.

Keywords

Entrance Approach, Architectural Design, Artificial Light, Nocturnal Architecture, Transition, Perception

Disciplines

Architecture | Arts and Humanities | Education | Engineering

Recommended Citation

Youssef, Maged (2020) "ROLE OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING IN EMPHASIZING THE ENTRANCE APPROACHES," Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ): Vol. 26: Iss. 2, Article 3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54729/2789-8547.1041