"NORDIC LIGHT – MODERN SCANDINAVIAN ARCHITECTURE" par Henry PLUMMER. Editions Thames & Hudson, Londres. 2014. in-4 carré, dos droit, couverture souple cartonnée photo. 256 pages. Texte en anglais, illustré de 513 reproductions photographiques & croquis, 411 en couleurs, pleine page pour la plupart, par Henry Plummer.

 

"Extreme variations of climate and sun have produced unique conditions of light throughout Scandinavia. The seasons present astonishing swings of illumination. The long, cold winter is dark and gloomy, with the sun barely appearing at all, and when it does, rising and setting for the briefest of times. Night-time permeates into the day to cloak the land in perpetual shade. And during the ecstatic yet fleeting summer, nights are pervaded by the midnight sun, producing almost too much light and concentrating the annual light-fall into several months. The low slant of sun at high latitudes is also remarkable, transforming human perception with long shadows and strikingly refracted colours - especially in winter, when sunshine arrives at glancing and often peculiar angles. 'One of the qualities of Nordic light', observes Finnish architect Kristian Gullichsen, 'is that in winter it is almost horizontal, and at certain moments comes from below the horizon line. If you are making a drawing with snow on the ground, you put shadows on top, rather than below, the mouldings. Sverre Fehn, the Norwegian master, was especially conscious of the light coming from below and up into a building, and designed for light that was reflected upwards from water or snow'…"

 

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