Light Lab: Fourth Year Reviews at Carleton
 University’s Azrieli 
School
 of 
Architecture 
and 
Urbanism

Betsy Williamson will be joining the fourth year options studio headed by Dr. Shelagh McCartney for their final review. The option
 studio 
addresses 
the 
experiential substance
 of
 light
 and 
the power
 of light 
to 
articulate
 architecture, 
to 
make 
space
 literate
 and
 to 
activate 
the 
interplay 
between 
thought 
and 
form.

As quoted from the studio brief, “The 
human
 eye 
is 
naturally 
attuned 
to 
twilight.
 
It
 sharpens 
our
 vision 
and
 engages 
our imagination.
 The 
excessive 
bright 
light 
in 
most 
contemporary 
buildings 
blinds 
our 
range 
of vision.
 
Removing
 light 
creates
 an
 opportunity 
to 
use 
of
 our
 imagination
 in 
space, 
eradicating visual 
excitement, 
to 
experience 
being 
and
 creating
 a 
sense 
of 
space
 and
 widening
 the
 methods to 
appreciate 
spaces,
 from
 being 
visually 
pleasing
 to 
mentally 
stimulating
 as 
the 
foundation
 of design. Students 
will 
explore 
the 
sensuality 
of 
light 
in 
space,
 using 
light 
to 
unravel 
details 
or 
to 
layer spaces 
at
 scales 
that 
build 
throughout
 the
 term. 


Through
 both 
reading 
the 
buildings 
of 
masters of 
light 
and 
sculpting
 the 
design 
of 
shadow,
 students
 will 
further
 master
 the 
equilibrium
 between
 the 
illuminated 
and 
unlit, 
aiming 
to 
allow 
space
 to 
bask 
in 
a
 sensuous
 and 
mentally‐stimulating 
atmosphere. 
Giving 
light 
a 
particular 
weight, 
temperature, 
viscosity, 
sound
 or 
to slice
 in 
a 
directional 
sheet
 to 
cut 
through
 the 
darkness 
of 
space.”