Hervé Descottes: How do architecture and space make use of light?

Steven Holl: Space is oblivion without light. A building speaks through the silence of perception orchestrated by light. Luminosity is as integral to its spatial experience as porosity is integral to urban experience.

For our Helsinki Museum of Contemporary Art, Kiasma, the most important building material was light. Of the 25 galleries that make up the main function of the museum, all have a slice of natural light.

The behavior of light guided many decisions. The low angle of the Helsinki sun, never reaching above 51 degrees, helps give sectional form to the curved, "light-catching" aspect of the architecture.

Changes in natural lighting conditions are left visible — so passing clouds bring shadow, and brightness varies as the interior experience varies.

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