Design-for-emergence: Balancing light and darkness in the complexity of urban life and space
Author
Gallagher, Anna
Term
4. Term
Education
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-05-25
Pages
51
Abstract
Vores oplevelse af byen om natten afhænger af en balance mellem naturligt mørke og menneskeskabt lys. Alt for ofte bliver de to ikke tænkt sammen, og løsninger designes uden for deres fysiske, sociale og økologiske kontekst. Behovet for at finde denne balance bliver tydeligere, efterhånden som forskning viser, hvor skadeligt kunstigt lys kan være for økosystemer og for menneskers sundhed. I byernes mange forskellige typer steder er balancen ekstra vanskelig, fordi der er et gab mellem brede, generelle vejledninger og snævre, specifikke regler. Resultatet er, at mange af vores vigtigste fælles offentlige rum mangler praktisk vejledning om belysning. Dette speciale betragter lys og mørke som dele af byers og lokalsamfunds komplekse adaptive systemer, hvor nye mønstre opstår gennem interaktion mellem mange elementer. I stedet for at designe et fast slutresultat anvendes en design-for-emergence-tilgang (design for emergens): at skabe enkle byggesten og rammer, der gør det muligt for brugere at forme og løbende udvikle forskellige løsninger. Tilgangen anerkender lokalkendskab og giver mere kontrol til beboere og brugere. Metoden anvendes i et belysningsforslag for et offentligt torv i det sydvestlige London. Emergens bruges både i designprocessen, ved at inddrage lokale synspunkter, og som en måde at udvikle stedsspecifikke retningslinjer for lys og mørke. Målet er et emergent byrum, hvor positive oplevelser af lys og mørke skaber gode betingelser for hverdagsliv og økologiske processer og kan fortsætte med at udvikle sig over tid.
Our experience of a city at night depends on a careful balance between natural darkness and human-made light. Too often, these are treated separately, and lighting solutions are designed without regard to their physical, social, or ecological context. The need to strike this balance is increasingly clear as research reveals how artificial light can harm ecosystems and affect human health. Achieving it across the many different kinds of urban places is made harder by a gap between very broad guidelines and highly specific regulations. As a result, many of our most important shared public spaces lack practical guidance on illumination. This thesis views light and darkness as parts of the complex adaptive systems of cities and communities, where interactions among many elements allow new patterns and qualities to emerge. Instead of designing a fixed end state, it adopts a design-for-emergence approach: setting simple building blocks and conditions that enable users to shape and evolve multiple outcomes. This approach respects local, context-specific knowledge and gives more control to residents and users. The method is applied to a lighting proposal for a public square in southwest London. Emergence is used both in the design process, by engaging local perspectives, and as a way to develop site-specific guidelines for light and darkness. The aim is an emergent public space where positive experiences of light and darkness support everyday life and ecological processes and continue to evolve over time.
[This summary has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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