Biological systems have adapted over billions of years to the cycles of day and night. We humans found the night sky a wonder, telling stories that linked the celestial to our lived experiences. Over the past one and a half centuries, electric lighting has disrupted delicate balances and obscured our connection to the cosmos, creating an epidemic of light pollution (aka Artificial Light at Night or ALAN) and squelching the darkness. Astronomers have long since cried foul from light pollution’s effects, and increasingly biologists, concerned citizens, and lighting designers have taken up the cause of improving the conditions of night. There is a better way forward.  

This class will explore the impacts of artificial lighting on the night sky, and ways to design exterior and site lighting that minimize these impacts. Through high-level discourse, practical considerations, metrics, design strategies, and legislative acts, this course will provide students with a grounding in sensitive approaches to electric lighting in the nocturnal environment. This course is for architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design students, with coursework tailored to each student’s intended focus. While not a prerequisite, Modeling Light serves as a grounding in general concepts in architectural lighting design.