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Translucent Surfaces: A Canvas for Light and Shadow
Look at the Effects You Can Create With Translucent Panels Inside and Out
Houzz Contributor. I am an architect and writer living in New York City. I have Bachelor of Architecture and Master in Urban Planning degrees, and over ten years experience in architectural practice, split between Chicago and NYC. Currently I'm focused on writing and online pursuits. My daily blog can be found at http://archidose.blogspot.com
Houzz Contributor. I am an architect and writer living in New York City.... More »
The barrier between inside and outside isn't always opaque or clear, solid or void. Translucent surfaces allow the skin of a building, as well as interior partitions, to lie somewhere between these poles. They offer a mystery to outsiders, while keeping privacy for inhabitants. What follows are examples of translucent surfaces, mainly walls, that inhabit this variable in-between zone of shadow and light.
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| This residence in Seattle, Washington by Pb Elemental features walls of translucent polycarbonate that results "in an abundance of natural light and an interior wall that changes with the weather," according to the architects. The nighttime view is quite striking, yet very different from ... |
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| ... the daytime view, in which these same walls appear milky, almost solid. The colorful glow of dusk and night is quite uniform in appearance when the sun is out. Here the privacy benefits are clearly evident. But what's it like inside? See the next photo. |
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| These polycarbonate panels become a canvas for light, in this case colored lights that give the box its distinctive glow, aided here no doubt by Photoshop. Regardless, the potential is clear: Translucent surfaces receive effects as much as transmit them. To put it another way, they allow light to go through, but the image stops on its surface. |
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The 440 House in Palo Alto, Calif., designed by Anne Fougeron, uses channel glass to achieve translucency in one of the volumes. The system is made up of pieces of cast glass in a U-shape that are structural (meaning they can support themselves and span relatively large distances for glass). Set side by side they create translucent walls with a pinstripe appearance.
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The volume of the 440 House that uses the channel glass is the stair connecting its two levels. The volume is a narrow project in plan wrapped in the glass. The side in the previous photo uses channel glass, but the opposite side, shown here, is different. Clear flat glass gives a glimpse into this space.
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Another couple views of the 440 House show the interior wall of channel glass that sits in between the two runs of the stair. Now it's apparent that this volume is a layering of three planes of glass: exterior channel glass, interior channel glass, and exterior clear glass.
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This last photo of 440 House shows a channel glass wall extending farther into the house to do double duty. Along one side of the bedroom it visually connects to the rest of the house below the steel beam, and it brings light in from outside as a clerestory. Note the translucent glass floor that runs alongside the wall.
by Nilus De Matran
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This project in San Francisco designed by Nilus de Matran uses polycarbonate sheets to bring in soft filtered light at the top of this double-height space. The panels soften the light in the white space.
| Unlike the previous photo's whiteness, here a translucent wall is used to create a canvas of color. The orange from the adjacent wall lands upon the full-height panels, further activated by the play of the lighting upon it. |
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This interior wall, which acts as a guardrail for a stair, illustrates how clarity recedes the farther something is from the surface. The zigzag of the stair treads and risers is quite clear; the handrail less so; the person less distinct. What lies beyond is indistinguishable — just a haze of diagonal movement.
| Here a translucent wall serves the purpose of concealing certain spaces adjacent to a kitchen area. Knowledge of the previous photo should be kept in mind here and in the case of similar uses: A soft and even look may be lost if things are placed too close to the translucent surface. |
This last photo acknowledges that translucent surfaces need not be limited to vertical planes. This roof for a small room and meditation spot is capped by translucent panels above wood members. It softens the light from above, while also allowing the adjacent tree to be sensed.
More:
High Design With Solar Panels
Modern or Contemporary: What's the Difference?
Bathe in the Light of Clerestory Windows
More:
High Design With Solar Panels
Modern or Contemporary: What's the Difference?
Bathe in the Light of Clerestory Windows
Ideabook published on May 23, 2011.
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Put in solid colors and dim them as needed, or even color-changing strip and change the light color whenevery you want. For a party you can change it to teal, and then back to warm white for your standard lighting.
As far as the 9-square grid problem, I hate to admit I'm not familiar with it. It sounds like a first-year architecture exercise, but I'm not sure. How would you describe it?
As for the nine squares problem, I think you're probably right that's it's an architecture school exercise. I think the notion of nine squares has roots both in the eastern traditions of feng shui and Byzantine churches and in the west's cathedrals. I thought it might be interesting to look at something abstract like nine squares, or grid design more generally, as a way of teaching amateurs like me how to look past styles and periods toward form and function.