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NORDIC LIGHT & COLOUR
9
We can conclude that to make the course optimally valuable
for students with so different backgrounds, more time must be
used for creating a common conceptual platform. This could
be done before the course or as its first part, possibly with
two special sessions:
light for colour people
and
colour for light
people
. When planning the next version of the course, this will
be considered.
LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS
The schedule of the six course days was very intense and
included all meals, jointly for lecturers and participants. All
participants and several of the lecturers stayed in Trondheim
during the course. The typical day included two lectures in the
morning and two workshops in the afternoon. For the work-
shops, which were lead by the lecturers, the group was divided
into two. One afternoon was used for a larger assignment
without teachers.
The lectures covered the following themes:
Perception of light and colour
.
Professor Arne Valberg (Bio-
physics, NTNU) presented what is known and what is still not
known about the complex relationship between physical stimuli
and visual perception. Associate professor Ulf Klarén (SYN-TES
group, Konstfack, Stockholm) demonstrated and discussed
different levels of human perception and experience. Their joint
conclusion was, that an understanding of human perception
cannot be based solely on physical data. (Valberg 2005; Klarén
2012)
Light and colour in Nordic countries
. Professor Barbara Ma-
tusiak (Light & Colour Group, NTNU) presented criteria for
daylight evaluation and classification in general (Matusiak
1998, 2005), and showed the specific visual character of north-
ern daylight, such as low mean elevation angel of the Sun, low
mean colour temperature of sunlight, high occurrence of cloud
cover and the impact of snow and ice. Associate professor
Karin Fridell Anter (SYN-TES group, Konstfack) presented the
typical colour scales of vegetation and ground in mid-Sweden
and the exterior colour tradition of Swedish buildings, and
discussed this in relationship to other Nordic countries (Fridell
Anter 1996; Fridell Anter & Svedmyr 1996; Fridell Anter &
Enberg 1997). Professor Alex Booker (Light & Colour Group,
NTNU) showed his art exhibition
Trondheim Derivé
with photos
and prints exploring the visual character of Trondheim and
expressing the autonomy of colour. All this gave starting points
for reflective viewing and consideration of the light and colours
that form the outdoor environment that surrounds us and has
formed our set of references.
Spatial interaction of light and colour
. Professor Monica Billger
(Architecture, Chalmers, Gothenburg) showed, among other
things, how colours in a room influence each other through
induction and interreflection (Billger 1999). PhD Cecilia
Häggström (Lighting Design, Jönköping University) demon-
strated how our perception of form and space affects and is af-
fected by our perception of colour and light (Häggström 2009).
Associate professor Karin Søndergaard (Lighting lab, Royal
Danish Academy of Fine Arts) showed how light can create
spatial zones that relate to our body, feelings and behaviour.
All this supported an understanding that the perceptual and
experienced aspects of colour and light could not be analysed
in a meaningful way without considering the spatial context.
Light, health and well-being
. The non-visual aspects of light
are essential for our health and diurnal rhythm. In the course
program this topic was presented by associate professor
Thorbjörn Laike (Environmental psychology, Lund University)
(Govén et al. 2010). Associate professor Helle Wijk (Health and
care sciences, Gothenburg University) presented research and
applications showing how colour and light can function as a
support for visually and/or cognitively impaired persons (Wijk
1998). This gave a further understanding that light and colour
should be seen as fundamental aspects of architecture and
interior design.
Daylighting and electric lighting
. Professor Jan Ejhed (KTH
Lighting lab, Stockholm) presented different possibilities to
use artificial light and professor John Mardaljevic (Building
Daylight Modelling, Loughborough University) demonstrated
methods for adequate prediction of daylight measures in build-
ings. This emphasised the importance of adequate technical
knowledge in the process of lighting planning, and showed
both advantages and limitations inherent in the digital methods
aimed to favour this process.
Most of the workshops were based on the themes of the
lectures and were held in the two well-equipped laboratories
of the NTNU Light & Colour Group. The daylight laboratory is
meant for model studies and has an artificial sky that provides
diffuse light as from the sky, and two artificial suns that provide
parallel light radiation and can be set in the accurate angel
for any geographical place, date and hour. The room labora-
tory has large windows in two directions, but can also be made
dark. It is equipped with elements for easy building of full scale
spaces and a large number of different light sources. See www.
ntnu.edu/bff/laboratories. Two workshops were held in the
historic parts of Trondheim. The nominal and perceived colours
of facades were assessed, using the method¬s of Fridell Anter
(2000), and the light situation in the famous Nidaros cathedral
was evaluated, using the PERCIFAL method developed within
the SYN-TES project (Klarén 2013).
The participants’ course evaluation showed that all parts of the
course were highly appreciated, but that there was generally
too little time for each theme. Especially the workshops should
have been given more time, which would have enabled a deep-