Light from above – how humans have perceived it from the very beginning

Seeing is a purely optical, biological process. Perceiving, however, is what sets us apart from a camera. Following the technical process of seeing, our perception connects the visual information with what we have learnt or experienced. This happens in the same way in every person, yet the conclusions drawn from it differ.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, we have increasingly been living and working for longer and more intensively under artificial light in our modern world.

Our daily routine no longer depends on sunlight – if in doubt, we simply switch on a light. This is not, however, without consequences for our perception: studies in occupational medicine, along with the long-standing experience of lighting designers from every field of architecture, show that artificial light influences our perception and even alters it in the long term.