Designing with Light

An in-depth look at how light is used in contemporary architecture to delineate form, color, and space, with particular attention to major projects by international architects including Stephen Holl, Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas.

The history of great architecture is the history of buildings that adapt creatively to light. Light possesses the power to transform an ordinary building into a majestic edifice that inspires awe. Architects rely heavily on light, looking to it as a tool that reveals form and forges the important connection between vision and construction.

Designing With Light, by award-winning architect Victoria Meyers, explores the myriad ways in which light is used in contemporary architecture, both internally and externally, to enhance the design and sense of space in a building. Vivid color photographs depict how architects employ light in buildings such as the Guggenheim Las Vegas and the National Gallery of Canada. Meyer looks at recent developments in the science of light, giving an overview of the history of light in architecture and demonstrating how the use of light in film, theater, and art has influenced light's use in architecture. Meyers goes on to discuss how light creates architectural features such as color, line, and form, and how architects strive to control light through glass, windows, skylights, and the manipulation of shadow and reflection. She clearly illustrates these cases with intriguing examples from recent buildings designed by internationally renowned architects including Zaha Hadid, Steven Holl, Herzog & de Meuron,Rem Koolhaas, John Pawson and many others. Meyers' lively, informative text and hundreds of rich color photographs are sure to fascinate those interested in architecture and design.