Modern architects have generally defined space in opposition to change. They acknowledge that buildings may be transformed or deteriorate over time. But on the whole, their artistic idea of space is complete and static, the final product of many imaginative decisions.
By contrast, the Solar Studio advances the proposition that sunlight adds a dimension of time to our perceptions of architectural space. In other words, space is generated by flux itself. The notion of completion is antithetical to all our activities. Any execution is calculated as a measure of time, the whole as a consequence of daily and seasonal rhythms of sunlight.
This is the case with all work in the Solar Studio, but the proposition reached its greatest amplification and expression in a library project. The actual program of required spaces was obtained from the Los Angeles library planners. But the spirit of the program was taken from observing the shadows of a wall.
The intention of such studio projects is not simply to describe solar
phenomena by architectural means; the purpose has more to do with rhythm
as a mysterious fact of aesthetic experience. Rhythm as a design strategy,
as a medium of the designer, can express our most delicate feelings and
moods. It is toward this end that the Solar Studio continues its investigation
of the solar envelope.