Spacemaking as Human Experience

It is proposed that architecture can be built with light and shadow. Although natural elements, they can be coaxed, shaped, and transformed in production of human experience. Architecture lies not in the physical form of the work, but in the human experience derived and stimulated from the work; architecture lies in man. This work begins with a look at numerous existences of light and shadow as they occur in the visual arts, through analysis of a select group of artists (Robert Irwin, James Turrell, Dan Flavin), and in architecture with a look at several works by masters of light and material (Louis Kahn, Tadao Ando, Le Corbusier). With understanding of these individuals and the potential of light and shadow in the application of enriching space through visual and the sensual experience, this work investigates design for a new center for the arts to be placed on site of the Marin Headlands. This investigation will help in understanding the potential of light and shadow, and should be especially useful to professionals in the art and architecture fields, or anyone else interested in expanding their perspective on light and shadow in architectural space.