Light as a Medium in American Modern Architecture
Tags: Lighting, Architecture, Modernism

As lighting and the Architecture of the Night became more influential globally, American modern architecture began to embody the financial force and organizations that brought its buildings into being[1]. Suddenly buildings became textured objects and had choreographed interactions with light[2], enabled by industrialization and a rapidly growing economy. In particular, the towering and colossal skyscrapers introduced illusion to modern architecture that somewhat abandoned the importance of “organic forms” and instead utilized forms and perspective to convey personality and spiritual symbolism in buildings. Moreover, light served as an additional layer to architecture that could instill a sensation of power and brightness in passersby. Light clearly solidified the idea that buildings could have more emotional influence on spectators than simply being an object to look at. The symbolic objectivity created by the movement of “Architecture of the Night”[3] was a manifestation of the United States’ capitalistic and ever-innovating attitude toward technology; lighting design and its potential provided a clear departure from more traditional approaches and enabled the US to create a unique style representative of its technological and economic growth.

Figure 1: John H. McClatchy Building, Philadelphia, PA, 1928. (Historical Society of Pennsylvania. [Postcard]. Retrieved from https://hiddencityphila.org/2018/02/art-deco-enclave-in-upper-darby-a-display-for-the-ages/.

Lighting design added another layer to architectural design that required architects and engineers to work together. Professor C. Howard Walker, who studied electric light in architecture, had more appreciation for projected light rather than bulbs because it enhanced the architecture as opposed to being a spectacle that distracted from the rest of the building[4]. As new technologies emerged that could manipulate light in more complex ways, light became increasingly integral to the overall form and structure of a building[5] and required the collaboration between architects and lighting engineers. Furthermore, light began to add dimension to buildings as they could now transform during the night; over time, it became clear that the purpose of light at night was not to mimic the appearance of the buildings during the day but create a completely new form[6]. In particular, light was used to exaggerate the perspective of skyscrapers[7] and create the illusion that the building disappeared into the night sky. This increased emphasis on transformation from day to night gave buildings more spirit and added more intention to the overall design. The new dynamism and possibilities created by lighting opened a new approach to architectural thinking that considered the spirit of a building and its ability to evoke desired emotions and perceptions in spectators.

Due to the new potential brought on by lighting design, the architect and lighting engineer were able to cater their design to more complex intentions. For example, companies began to use lighting as a form of advertisement[8] as they associated their brand with the feelings that buildings were now able to evoke, such as the John H. McClatchy Building near Philadelphia (Figure 1). Buildings’ transformability and additional layer of customization gave companies the ability to make a clear statement with architectural design. This erupted into the creation of commissioned buildings that evoked the personalities of their companies in a dynamic and almost spectacular manner. Lighting also served as a clear marker of the influence of industrialization and technology on architecture. During the time of the Depression, lighting design became more popular as consumer use of energy decreased. Even more remarkably, light at nighttime had a positive psychological effect[9] that raised the spirits of the public by quite literally bringing more light into a relatively dark time. As the United States’ technology developed even more, its modern architecture followed closely as architects utilized new capabilities made possible by the increasing research and resources in these fields.

Figure 2: New York Skyline, New York, NY, 1947. (Feininger, Andreas. “Manhattan Skyline at Night”. [Photograph]. Favrify. Retrieved from https://www.favrify.com/new-york-skyline/.

Lighting design had a positive presence and influence on both the people and the economy, leading to increased popularity of these lighted buildings in American architecture. Architecture in the US started to distinguish itself from European architecture as it continued to develop the skyscraper and make more use of lighting’s transformative nature. The New York City skyline serves as a perfect example of the new style and approach that emerged from the US as lighting became more popular (see Figure 2). As architects and lighting engineers erected more buildings, they began to create a “new city of light and color rising above an old one”[10]. The powerful and technologically advanced buildings reflected the capitalistic nature of American economy in a palpable manner and perfectly embodied the US’s rapid rise of influential and economic power.

[1] William J.R. Curtis, Modern Architecture since 1900, (Englewood Cliffs 1996), 225.

[2] Ibid., 227.

[3] Ibid., 267.

[4] Dietrich Neumann, “‘Architecture of the Night’ in the USA,” in Architecture of the Night: The Illuminated Building, (Munich: Prestel, 2002), 54.

[5] Ibid., 59.

[6] Ibid., 56.

[7] Ibid., p. 59.

[8] Ibid., p. 56.

[9] Ibid., p. 62.

[10] Ibid., p. 55.