Wonders of the Night

The architecture of the night, or Night Architecture, is the purest encapsulation of the duality of a design - it presents us with starkly different ideations of a concept and it adds depth to not only the function but also the drama and the story of a design. This subfaction of architecture has many facets but none more important than light. Light is perhaps the most elusive subject that artists have tried to capture - from the likes of Claude Monet to Tadao Ando, this formless entity has long piqued the interest of every kind of artist on the planet. Le Corbusier has an apt saying for this: “The history of architecture is the history of the struggle for light.” - while the struggle for light is not contained to the art of architecture, its prevalence has to be regarded as one of the best sources of artistry in our profession. Now imagine a world without light; imagine a world without the immemorial artistic material that is light. What would that world look like? Ironically, we don’t even have to imagine what such a world would look like because we inhabit that world daily - or should I say, nightly. Yes, the world without light which I have referred to is the thing we know as nighttime - this time in which most, if not all, light is absent from our gaze. 

    This absence of light that we experience on a nightly basis has given rise to one of mankind’s most important inventions - artificial light. From mankind’s first fire to the modern LED bulbs, artificial light has both been a functional and artistic addition to the arsenal of architects. Designing without natural light, Night Architecture has given architects the ability to exercise total control over the dramatism of their creations after dark. Case in point, the Louvre - the Louvre, the scar on the face of Paris (as Dan Brown puts it), is (to this day) one of the most controversial and iconic pieces of juxtaposed architecture. During the day, the disparity of the Pyramid and the surrounding buildings is exceedingly apparent, but at night, most if not all, of that disparity is alleviated by the lighting of the complex. The commanded light that surrounds the entire complex turns ‘the scar on the face of Paris’ into one of the most iconic shots of this equally iconic piece of architecture. I think we can all agree that the night shots of the Louvre are infinitely more breathtaking than the day shots of it - which leads me back to my original point, the absence of natural light and the prevalence of the commanded light, the artificial light, has enriched the story and the design of I.M. Pei. 

    Of course, Night Architecture isn’t just about light, it’s also about function - function, in this context, is all about what the design offers once the lights go out. The difference of the functions between morning and night also significantly impacts the idea of Night Architecture moving forward. Take the High Line, for example - the High Line is an iconic piece of architecture but the creation of the Mile-Long Opera made it a perennial example of Night Architecture. The Mile-Long Opera, an ode to the changing meaning of 7 pm, was conceived to creatively tell the stories of what New Yorkers do when the clock strikes 7 pm. While the Opera only lasted for 6 nights, the impact of the performance is resounding. It’s a love letter to Night Architecture that a beautiful iconic park can turn into a performance stage for contemporary stories, much like how busy streets in commercial areas become outdoor restaurants and hangout places at night. These contemporary strategies of turning places of high volume and traffic into hangout, dining, or performance spaces have created a new wave of hybrid architecture - this is because architecture has become increasingly organic in the modern era. Much like us, the buildings and spaces we create follow a certain circadian rhythm, as it were, and the night affords those buildings and spaces a chance to become something else, something more organic, something free from the controlled grasps of its designer - or perhaps something within the infinite context of its design and its need to become something more. Philosophical ramblings aside, the examples I provided both support the core of Night Architecture, which is to expand the definitions of spaces by providing them an avenue to do so. 

    Perhaps the most interesting thing that this topic provides is the philosophical entanglement of possibility and purpose, of day and night, of the over-abundance of and the lack thereof - all these things provide a depth of character to designs that sometimes creators themselves weren’t aware of. Night Architecture shouldn’t just be about how the light is designed at night, but it should actively challenge and expand definitions of designs - Night Architecture is for architecture what the evening is for us humans; it should encourage creativity, passion, and drama in a space that already has these pre-defined. Maybe instead of channeling sunlight, we ought to try channeling more moonlight in our designs? Instead of focusing too much on what the design would look like in the morning, we ought to balance our approach and also focus on what functions it may hold at night, that which we haven’t even conceived or dreamed of? These should be additional questions that we should answer regarding Night Architecture - while light is an important part of it, light shouldn’t be our primary focus. 

    While not many architects appreciate the difference between these two very different times of day, I suggest that the principles that govern the day should govern the night as well, and then some. Designing with the primary aspects of light, orientation, function, form, etc. are prevalent while we imagine our designs during the day, we should also take these into account when we think of what happens at night - maybe instead of just closing down the museums at an early time, why not create a theatre experience? Maybe even have a temporary night exhibit just to showcase a different side of the museum? Perhaps, instead of closing down libraries early, why not create a design program that allows midnight brainstorming sessions for night owls of different disciplines? Instead of designing restaurants solely for the meals of the day, why not create a program that allows people to create or enjoy midnight snacks? While these are just ideas, I for one would be immensely more interested in designing and in partaking in these activities if they do exist. They add depth to the typologies and create a new wave of interesting ‘circadian architecture’ that doesn’t confine itself to the morning and owes its success to the night.

    While light is the most elusive subject, I pose that Night Architecture is the most philosophical object that we possess in our arsenal - the understanding of Night Architecture, especially in this day and age, is completely underutilized. We must expand the definitions of this great topic and maybe we can stumble upon architecture meant for the night. Like light, Night Architecture is a tool to add drama, intrigue, passion, and creativity to a new and hopefully unique form of modern architecture.