The Illumination of Buildings

Abstract

Even before the invention of artificial light, buildings were lit up at night, as is illustrated by historical pictures. This usually happened during festive events, with the light coming from candles, oil pots, torches or gas flames. The advent of the light bulb offered wonderful opportunities for enhancing special occasions through the illumination of buildings. Initially, light bulbs were used only to emphasise the outlines of the buildings, and the architecture itself and its surroundings were not lit up. From the 1920s, buildings were mainly illuminated for advertising purposes, a method that is still used - and abused - to make people aware of the presence of information. Even in those days, some people pointed out that it was important to install illumination with sympathy for the aesthetics of the architecture, whether the aim was to advertise or to draw attention to the splendour of the building. Since then, there have always been architects who, when choosing the material for the façade of a building, have kept in mind the way that their building is going to look after dark.