Night vs. Day

If you’re asked to describe the city you’re in, how would you describe it?

Do you describe the qualities of it during the day or at night?

Is one more important than the other?

What about architecture?

Can viewing a piece of architecture on a cloudy vs. sunny day, night vs. day, cold vs. warm change one’s opinion about it?

I would say, yes, it does.

My dad has seen FallingWater, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, in every season.

I wish I could experience every building like that.

Last night at dinner we ate in a restaurant right across the street of the Coliseum.

As we left that night, I took a picture of it.

 Today it was cloudy and I went on a tour of the Coliseum.

See the difference? Look how the building is transformed. 

Seeing it at night made it look mysterious, but also elegant.  Today it looked intimidating, dreary, and extremely massive. 

Also last night on the bus we drove by St. Peter’s and today I visited that as well.

See the difference, too?

At night it seems fancy, elegant as well, and very light in terms of weight.

Today with the clouds moving, it looked sturdy, powerful, as if it was controlling the clouds' movement.  It looks plain, but the inside is completely different than the outside!

Just experiencing these two beautiful structures at different points of the day makes me even happier to be in architecture.

During my school projects I have never thought of how a building can transform between night and day, summer and winter, rain or shine.

Architecture isn’t just a building.  It includes a variety of variables that come into play for a wonderful experience.

So then, how can one capture something with so many things (texture, value, scale, weather, mood) in one sketch?!

I’m working on it.

Yay architecture!