Escoda

EXPERIMENTANDO CON LA LUZ EN LA ERA DIGITAL
ESCODA PASTOR, Carmen Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña

“The revelations of new spaces, like the interwoven languages, dissolve and reappear in light. In magnificent spaces, light changes and appears to describe form. An eclipse of white clarity suddenly gives way to a pulse with color; light is contingent, its shadows intermittent.” ( Holl, 2006,p. 28) Clearly, in the field of architecture the evolution of digital technology has led to a three-dimensional perception of space that is quite different from traditional analogue representation, in that space in architecture is represented by two-dimensional representations. The first is dynamic, capable of experiencing and representing complex geometries and spaces formed by light, with greatrealism and control. This enables endless images of the same object to be produced in a short time. Three-dimensional modelling enriched with animation or simulation, adding the time factor such as the fourth dimension, contrasts with the more static traditional representation in plan and elevation. To this, we must add the countless mixed representations that include photomontage techniques andimage manipulation that facilitate an analysis of new forms and new spaces that shape contemporary architecture. But this transformation does not only occur at the representational level, but involves a profound transformation in the design process, a transformation of the type of abstraction, of the mental and technical tools of architecture, in which an essential factor, the

context, isemphasized whether it be urban, cultural, social, topographical or landscape. This implies, in the words of Josep Mª Montaner (2008, p. 18), the demand for greater suiting of systems of objects to environmental characteristics. That is why we talk about contemporary architectural systems and they can only be understood in relation to their context. These words make great sense at a time when conceptssuch as sustainability and environmental control are very important and necessary in our profession for the rebalancing of the environment. Moreover, these requirements and needs are sufficient to reconsider the dynamics on which many of the outlines of our subjects are based. It is interesting to analyze, from this perspective, a series of processes and the mental and technical tools that arebehind some projects that experiment with lighter forms, with transparency and porosity, which enhance the interaction with the environment and that are possible thanks to new technologies and building materials and to new techniques of representation. Strategies of collage and montage, decomposition and control of light by means of a building’s exterior explain this adaptation to contextualcharacteristics, thereby creating a very environmental architecture, according to the environment. This new architecture involving complex geometric shapes finds a wide field for experimentation in projects by Steven Holl, Dominique Perrault, Herzog & de Meuron and Jean Nouvel, among others.

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En el ámbito de la arquitectura la evolución de las técnicas digitales ha dado lugar a unapercepción tridimensional del espacio muy distinta a la tradicional representación analógica en la que el espacio en la arquitectura se representa a través de representaciones bidimensionales. La primera es dinámica, capaz de experimentar y representar geometrías y espacios complejos conformados a través de la luz, con gran realismo y control, permitiendo producir infinidades de imágenes del mismoobjeto en poco tiempo. El modelado en tres dimensiones enriquecido con la animación o simulación, añadiendo el factor tiempo como la cuarta dimensión, contrasta con la representación tradicional más estática en planta y alzado. A ello hay que añadir la infinidad de representaciones mixtas que incluyen técnicas de fotomontaje y de manipulación de imágenes que facilitan el análisis de las nuevas...