Church of Light Daylight Study

The Church of Light was designed by renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando. The Church is one of Ando’s most recognized architectural work. Ando wanted to emphasize the philosophical framework between nature and architecture, through which light can define new spatial perception. The intersection of light and solid raises the occupants awareness of the spiritual and secular from within.

The project site is located in the town of Ibaraki, Japan, which is 80 feet above sea level with similar weather conditions to Santa Maria, California. The original Church of Light design was completed in 1989. However, the Church underwent a complete redesign. The redesign was completed in 1999. The True North is parallel to the extruding wall. The area of the site was measured to be 1216 SQ. FT. The Church’s wall height is 6,280 mm (20.604 feet), the width is 6,280 mm (20.604 feet), and the length is 18,000 mm (59.055 feet).

FLOOR PLAN: 1/2” = 1’0”

We were tasked to form into groups of 4 to assemble the Church of Light and record the reflectance, which was recorded with the light meter and sun dial in foot-candles. A foot-candle is one candle lighting up to a distance of a foot. We measured the reflectance in three locations: the first location being towards the entrance or the back of the Church, the second location being in the middle of the pews, and the third location towards the front or cross.

The materials used to make the Church are cardboard, paper, paint, graypaper, and hot glue. Mark and Adolfo found the floor plans, converted the dimensions from millimeters to feet-inches, and prepared the CAD file for the laser cutter. The project scale is at 1/2” = 1’-0”. Guadalupe and Alan glued the gray-scale paper onto the cardboard to emulate the reflectance of concrete. However, as a group, we glued the floor, walls, and ceiling to form the Church of Light. Afterwards, we assembled the pews and altar. We recorded the reflectance in the three interiors locations and an outside location for reference.

As our data for daylighting factors do not exceed 2.00%, this concludes that our experiment is a success. This means that the Church fulfills its purpose of reading, filing, and other clergy work.

The Church of Light is made of concrete, which has a reflectance of 55%. The wooden benches and floor has a reflectance of 20-40%, varying on the type of wood used. These materials can affect the change of daylighting factors for the interior.