Turn on Dark Skies - The Influence of Facade Geometry on Light Pollution
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Program
Architecture and planning beyond sustainability, MSc
Publicerad
2019
Författare
Milićević, Ivana
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
The Andromeda Galaxy, the nearest major galaxy to our own (Milky Way, 200 billion stars) holds as many as 250 billion (2.5x1010) stars.
Everything that we can see, without the visual aid, belongs to these
two galaxies; yet, on a clear day, from a dark rural retreat, our eyes
can see only between 2000 and 3000 stars (people with exceptional
vision can see up to 7000 stars). On the other side, there are places
on our planet from which nothing outside the Solar System is ever
seen in the sky. This is directly influenced by the overuse of artificial
lighting and is defined as light pollution.
This master’s thesis is looking into the problem of Light pollution,
understanding and presenting positive and negative aspects
of artificial lighting, and proposing a new way architect can work to
reduce it.
It is known that surface geometry has an impact on light
reflection; however, very few research projects were based on the
effect of geometry on light pollution. The main objective of this
research is to identify how facade geometry could influence and
control light reflection to reduce the overall problem of light pollution.
This graduation project focuses on facade design in the form
of vertical fins using a parking house in the centre of Gothenburg,
Sweden, as a case study. Form of the individual element is defined
to prevent waste light from spreading. Further, materialisation of the
fins is proposed to illustrate how both, micro and macro scale of
geometry can influence light reflection, therefore reduce or enhance
light pollution.