“Lightscapes,” a collaboration between Stuttgart-based Transsolar KlimaEngineering and architect Anja Thierfelder, explores the natural phenomenon known as crepuscular rays, or sunbeams, which occur when direct sunlight is blocked by clouds and the rays are scattered by atmospheric microparticles such as dust or haze. Making their idea a reality required knowing how to modulate the space’s thermodynamic conditions, and to do so the team developed a high-pressure nozzle system to control humidity, temperature, and air movement. The shafts of light in the photo above appear to be coming through skylights even though there aren’t any in the space. In reality, those rays are the work of 20 spotlights casting their beams diagonally across the dark interior to create a dialogue of light and shadow with the existing architecture. “Lightscapes” is on view through Nov. 27, at the Arsenal complex, as part of the 15th International Architecture Exhibition—La Biennale di Venezia.
