the history of architecture has been soaked
of light and viceversa since they both exist,
joined by the time and the technology of the moment.
the pavillion of the esprit nouveau by le corbusier,
apartment designed
nineteen seventy-seven,
is a masterpiece of the swiss master architecture for the use of natural light
as a construction material,
to design and research geometries, curves, volumes,
space inventions and colours.
when the first artificial light,
the incandescence lamp, at that time totally brand new,
has been invented, it was still misconceived,
le corbusier started using it in his architecture
in a functional and essential way,
showing its construction technique
in an clear and pure way.
this housing type, built in bologna
in nineteen seventy-seven,
as a symbol of modern architecture,
is reinterpreted with a solo exhibition,
from the nineteenth to the thirtieth of september,
by the master of light marionanni,
through the brighting of his art pieces.
the ‘machine for living in’
was le corbusier’s dream, who saw the house
as a system perfectly functional
and organised in its rooms,
creating spatial, thermal and auditory wellness, capable of fulfil the human being’s need-right of being happy. pursuing this aim,
le corbusier dedicates
two of his five points of architecture
to the daylight in houses:
the façade libre (free facade)
and the fenêtre en longueur (ribbon window), that allow to the daylight to come in
and increase
the sensation of permeability
between the inside and the outside.
the swiss architect’s philosophy
is materialised in ‘l’esprit nouveau pavilion’,
built on the occasion of the
exposition international des arts décoratifs of paris,
in nineteen twenty-five.
in nineteen seventy-seven, in bologna,
architects giuliano gresleri and josè oubrie rebuilt it in front of the city fair,
in piazza della costituzione.
l’esprit nouveau is the union of two different projects, the first one was draft in nineteen twenty-two and its purpose was offering a living arrangement useful for resolving
the high population density, without affecting the quality of life,
and a round space with two dioramas
that illustrate the realisation
of a new city and the renovation
of paris city centre,
proposing the construction of skyscrapers
and green areas.
the natural light becomes substance,
tool for building, it defines geometries,
volumes, depths and unexpected curves.
‘architecture is the masterly,
correct and magnificent
play of masses brought together under the light.
our eyes are made to see forms in light;
light and shade reveal
cubes, cones, spheres, cylinders or pyramids are the great primary forms which light reveals to advantage; the image of these is distinct and tangible within us without ambiguity.
it is for this reason that these are beautiful forms, the most beautiful forms’.
on the one hand, the natural light
will always be an essential point for his
creative activity, on the other hand
le corbusier demonstrated
that he was at the forefront
using the artificial lighting
in the twenties,
while his contemporaries
looked at it
with concers and scepticism.
his devices
met specific lighting functions
for his inner and outer
architectures.
the greatest example
is the ‘lamp de marseille’
for the unitées d’habitation of marseilles.
the binomial light-sacredness
joins light-architecture.
thanks to its strong symbolic and mystic potential, the light have been always matched
to the idea of sacred as a substantive component of every religious place
and of every monumental
and human-celebratory architecture as well. despite his nature of agnostic man,
le corbusier always showed
extraordinary sensibility for the interaction of colours and lights in his sacred buildings.
for le corbusier, the light in sacred buildings
is not a tool for persuasion,
as it has been until that time,
but a force capable of weaken
the institutional discipline of church,
while it uses its charming power
of drawing the attention to the marvels of the sky, consecrating the natural universe.
the orchestration of light becomes
a division in acts and the conductors
are – from time to time – the time of the day,
the year and the clear or overcast sky.