Nicholas Torres - Blog 5

Simmons Hall at MIT is a good example of how structure affects light. The building is made up of thousands of 1'x1' punctures to create a concept of "porosity" according to architect, Steven Holl. Inside the small punctures of light allow direct sunlight to disperse into the relatively dark, interior spaces. Instead of large windows the small windows and deeper walls allow these south facing spaces to stay cool, but lighted in the summer, enough so that interior lighting is kept at minimal. While inside it was interesting how these small punctures affected the shadows in the space and seemed to make the light extend further into the interior, flooding the space with light, but not sending in a lot of direct glare.