Narrative light : the design of a monastic retreat

This thesis is the design of a monastic retreat on Cumberland Island, off the coast of Georgia. The island serves as the source of the generative concept that organizes the sequence of spaces within the monastery. The thesis proposes that light possesses the capacity to reinforce the generative concept. This capacity might be called a narrative use of light in which light tells us of the intentions behind the concept. A narrative use of light is expressed in Louis Kahn's design for the Unitarian Church in Rochester, New York. Kahn employs the light to evoke a sense of roundness within the square central room. By this simple move, Kahn has softened the comers, thus retaining the essence of his initial concept which depicts the space as a circular room. His attitude towards the light tells us of the generative concept. The thesis is composed of three sections. The first describes a walk through the island which collects impressions about the nature of the island. The second section describes how impressions of the island have been transformed into architecture, and how light tells a story, as one walks through the buildings. As a reference, religious buildings by Tadao Ando and Jorn Utzon are evaluated in the third section, as additional sources for creating a narrative with light.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

1988

Author dc:creator

• Sama, Jose Marcos

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Bill Hubbard.

• Architecture.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/78992

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/78992