More than the absence of light

Darkness matters — for numerous reasons. For instance, many insects, birds, nocturnal animals, and plants are highly dependent on darkness to navigate, forage, and live. Our human mental and physical well-being is highly reliant on darkness too.

For those significant reasons, we want to give darkness its due recognition in SLA’s projects – also its aesthetic qualities. Our lighting designer, Pernille Bech-Larsen puts it like this:

“At SLA, we work with the aesthetic feeling of nature, how nature feels and affects us. As a part of that, we also work with the often-overlooked darkness and the aesthetic feeling of the night. The darkness is so much more than just the absence of light. Darkness differs and is never the same; we often think of darkness as pitch blackness, but actually, darkness appears in countless nuances depending on the changing conditions of the night sky.”

Our relationship with light is in flux

Our relationship with darkness and light has changed radically within a short span of time. As Pernille says: “Humans are drawn to light, and we have spent so much time and innovative force on how to expand our life into the evening and the night. In 1878, the incandescent lamp was invented, paving the way for artificial light to spread across the globe. And finally, here in the 21st century, we conquered the night and created 24-hour cities in the name of efficiency. But all this light works against our natural rhythm.”

Long before the invention of artificial light, humans were creatures of daylight; our lives and rhythms followed the sun. For 10.000 years, we got up at sunrise and went to bed at sundown. This rhythm of light and darkness became hardwired into our bodies. Several daily processes happening within us, known as the Circadian Rhythm, are affected by changes in the amount of light and darkness in our surroundings. Different functions within our bodies are triggered and – without our awareness – do their thing to keep our bodies and minds in balance. Our reliance on, and relationship with, light is well-known. On the other side is a less known but equally important need for darkness.

If we don’t get daylight and darkness, our circadian rhythm can be disrupted, and our bodily functions won’t work optimally. Pernille elaborates: “Today, our physical need for darkness is being challenged by several things, most prominently the globally increasing emission of artificial light. This is partly due to growing urbanization and the invention of cheap and effective blue LED light. As lighting becomes cheaper, we tend to use more – and subsequently spend less and less time in the darkness. This shift is not just potentially threatening our health, with increased risks of stress and sleep disorders, but also cutting our connection with darkness, thus ruining our understanding and relationship with it.”

Pernille’s last point is backed up by a new Danish study showing that 41% of kids between the ages of 5 and 12 have never been stargazing. Let’s just pause on that. They have never been watching a starry night sky – as in… ever.

Designing with light and darkness – for all life

Through SLA’s designs and strategies, we aim to counter this tendency by reintroducing darkness in our cities, landscapes, and imaginations. Because darkness matters – not just for humans but for numerous other species too. Guided by our specialized light designers, we challenge the conventional approaches to light in the city. Our approach rejects the dominant notion of ‘the more, the better’ and is instead guided by an understanding of light as the opposite of the equally important darkness – or, as Pernille puts it: “We work with lighting and darkness as means to design the use of urban spaces and create a livable environment for humans and other species – while reducing light pollution.”

This is important because our unsustainable use of light in cities affects not only humans but also numerous nocturnal animals that are dependent on darkness for essential activities such as hunting, foraging, and wayfinding. Every day, insects, birds, and bats are trapped and die as a result of our use of artificial light. “Bats, migrating birds, and insects are especially sensitive to artificial light. For example, every year, 160,000 migrating birds are caught in the tribute light at Ground Zero in New York, unable to escape.”

Not only are animals affected by our lighting choices; trees that grow adjacent to streetlights tend to lose their natural rhythm, affecting their internal understanding of night, day, and seasons, which brings them out of sync with the pollinator season.

Redefining the link between light and safety

The established notion that ‘more lighting is better’ is rooted in associating darkness with potential dangers in parks and back alleys —a fear of the imagined horrors hiding in the dark. At SLA, we seek alternative ways to make people feel safe while minimizing the need for artificial light and creating good conditions for biodiversity. One way is a well-planned design.

By creating designated biodiversity zones away from pathways and bringing the light closer to the ground, we reduce glare and give people a much better overview, without excessive use of artificial light. Lighting up vertical surfaces or choosing a bright pavement – better at reflecting natural and sparse artificial light – is another way of creating a sense of safety with reduced artificial light use.

Additionally, indications suggest that our understanding of light’s link to perceived safety is evolving. A recent study by the Municipality of Copenhagen found that reducing streetlights and turning them off in parks between midnight and five in the morning didn’t compromise the inhabitants’ sense of safety – they felt just as safe as before.

”At SLA, it’s not just about more or less light; at every site, we work with the atmospheric qualities of light towards emphasizing the specific needs and wants. Shaping a space with the use of color temperature, placemaking, and wayfinding are essential factors in a lighting design, underlining the specific narrative and feeling of every site,” Pernille points out.

Above all, no matter the size, place, or use – every use of artificial light demands sensibility and understanding of the task at hand. At SLA, our approach to lighting design aims to give space to natural darkness, creating the best conditions for life – all life. It is about finding ways to fulfill our needs, wants, and wishes while respecting the needs of other species.

On top of that, we want to fight for the conditions that can make sure that the next generations will be able to experience the magnitude of the starry night sky with all its greatness.

If you want to dive deeper into the topic of ‘Nightscapes’, check out ‘scape magazine’s issue #2 / 2023 – featuring exciting interviews with Pernille Bech-Larsen and other experts in the field.