Light allows us to see visually experience architecture. It also enables us to perceive time, space, form, depth, texture, and color. It influences our moods, our wellbeing, and guides the activities that we do in a space. This project is a case study on how light shapes architecture and lives of the occupants.
As a house for a photographer and his young family, the spaces were designed to create as many unique conditions as possible using natural daylight to complement the activities in a given space and to provide opportunities for him to photograph varying subjects throughout the house. The design team developed a rating system that correlated to the programmatic needs of each room with the exposure, quality, and direction of natural light desired and required. Multiple strategies for manipulating walls and ceilings were explored to derive innovative solutions for each room that matched the rating system established. Working from the inside out and with an experience defined, the light-driven design solutions for each space were combined and organized into an architectural form that optimized the site conditions. Multiple sustainable strategies and features were considered in the house’s design such as minimizing direct sun exposure from the west sun; passive cooling with cross ventilation; a courtyard to optimize the stack effect; LED lighting; energy-efficient doors and windows; solar panels and solar-powered water heaters; low VOC paint application; and a rainwater collection system. As a home sculpted by light, the Concengco Residence is an exemplary model of contemporary, sustainable living in the tropics.