THE“PHYSICAL” DIMENSION OF LIGHT

Domes represent focal points towards which the user directs his gaze. Modern man, with his positive attitude, is inclined to accept, naturally, phenomena which occur regularly, he rarely wonders about them and tends to just experience their effects [5]. The intensity of the “affective” response to the phenomenon will vary according to the user but the phenomenon as such should be investigated in isolation: it is not just a question of empirical configuration but of how it appears at a certain time under certain conditions. The brilliance of the tiles, the atmospheric conditions, the time of day, the latitude and the trajectory of the rays contribute to the mutability of the context and thus the domes define the attributes of a significant space [6]. Designers are accustomed to tackling the material properties but they rarely plan the effects of the attributes: these qualities are less evident but definitively causative of the existential qualities (ethos) of the environments. Buildings and squares, just like other natural or “anthropized” (man- modified) environments can be inviting or repulsive, welcoming or cold, cheerful or depressing, They generate “atmospheres” (habitats) which affect the users who may be more or less aware of the phenomenon [3].
Those who deal with intermodal qualities should consider the issue and tackle its objective components.