Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA or Arab World Institute),
Paris, France · 1987
Photo · Photo by Georges Fessy
An interior precedent demonstrating how a kinetic, mechanical facade system can filter daylight to create dynamic, patterned light and shadow play within a circulation corridor.
- What we like about this project
- The way the circular light projections warp into elongated ellipses across the curved surface of the metal column.
Materials
- glass
- aluminum
- steel
- polished-concrete
Visual identifiers
- mechanical-facade
- dappled-light
- cylindrical-column
- glass-partitions
- arab-world-institute
Style tags
- high-tech
- modernist
- kinetic
Visual tags
- high-tech
- kinetic-facade
- light-and-shadow
- circulation
- daylight-filtering
- Geometry
- A narrow linear corridor flanked by glass partitions and a complex mechanical facade. A large cylindrical column anchors the corner, while circular apertures in the facade project elliptical light patterns onto all surfaces.
- Facade system
- Kinetic mechanical diaphragm facade with motorized apertures.
- Structural guess
- Steel frame with concrete floor slabs and integrated circular columns.
- Spatial scale
- Human-scale circulation corridor, approximately one story high with a compressed width.
- Lighting
- Strong, direct daylight filtered through mechanical apertures, creating high-contrast dappled light and shadow patterns.
- Atmosphere
- Technological and atmospheric, defined by the precise play of light through mechanical lenses.
- Environmental context
- Interior perimeter corridor overlooking an urban courtyard or street through a high-tech facade.
- Spatial experience
- The corridor feels highly dynamic and kinetic; light filtered through mechanical diaphragms transforms the static surfaces into a canvas of shifting circular shadows and bright spots.
- Composition rhythm
- The repetitive vertical framing of the glass partitions balances the complex, organic rhythm of the projected light circles.
- Style reading
- High-Tech Modernism
- Program
- Cultural institute or museum circulation
- Perspective
- Interior Spatial
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- glass, aluminum, steel, polished-concrete
- Visual identifiers
- mechanical-facade, dappled-light, cylindrical-column, glass-partitions, arab-world-institute
- Style tags
- high-tech, modernist, kinetic
- Visual tags
- high-tech, kinetic-facade, light-and-shadow, circulation, daylight-filtering
- Geometry
- A narrow linear corridor flanked by glass partitions and a complex mechanical facade. A large cylindrical column anchors the corner, while circular apertures in the facade project elliptical light patterns onto all surfaces.
- Facade system
- Kinetic mechanical diaphragm facade with motorized apertures.
- Structural guess
- Steel frame with concrete floor slabs and integrated circular columns.
- Spatial scale
- Human-scale circulation corridor, approximately one story high with a compressed width.
- Lighting
- Strong, direct daylight filtered through mechanical apertures, creating high-contrast dappled light and shadow patterns.
- Atmosphere
- Technological and atmospheric, defined by the precise play of light through mechanical lenses.
- Environmental context
- Interior perimeter corridor overlooking an urban courtyard or street through a high-tech facade.
- Spatial experience
- The corridor feels highly dynamic and kinetic; light filtered through mechanical diaphragms transforms the static surfaces into a canvas of shifting circular shadows and bright spots.
- Composition rhythm
- The repetitive vertical framing of the glass partitions balances the complex, organic rhythm of the projected light circles.
- Style reading
- High-Tech Modernism
- Program
- Cultural institute or museum circulation
- Perspective
- Interior Spatial
- Discipline
- architecture