Luce nordica ed edifici di culto. Comparazione tra architetture scandinave moderne.

The mutable meteorological conditions and unusual peculiarities of the Northern lights affecting Scandinavian countries, have brought modern architects to take into greater account natural light as an essential instrument for the composition of architectural spaces. Furthermore, the use of sunlight as a symbol of the incorporeal presence of God complicates the management of lighting in religious buildings. Thanks to specific daylight systems Scandinavian designers obtain different emotional effects inside churches. The zenithal position of skylights allows the use of a great amount of light that can be canalized or diffused by the typical curvilinear ceilings of vernacular tradition. Clerestory windows and vertical openings offer two different lighting solutions: in the first case, the high horizontal windows try to uniformly distribute natural light through the roof; on the other hand, with the second system, natural light enters the sacred space creating a sharp contrast between lights and shadows. Through the study of daylight systems in modern Scandinavian churches, it is possible to define the relationship between the perception of space and the choice of lighting methodologies.