Sensing the Luminous Night : Capturing and communicating time-based observations of environmental light across urban and rural sites

Griffiths, Rupert (2024) Sensing the Luminous Night : Capturing and communicating time-based observations of environmental light across urban and rural sites. In: Advances in the Integration of Technology and the Built Environment : Select Proceeding of Architecture Across Boundaries 2024. Springer Nature, Singapore.

Other (AAB2024_CameraReadySubmission_144 (1))
AAB2024_CameraReadySubmission_144_1_.docm - Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial.
Download (752kB)

Abstract

This paper attends to the boundary between the human and the non-human in urban space. It considers the role that light plays in choreographing human and non-human behaviours and how this can be used to situate individuals in spatio-temporal imaginaries that extend from the local to the planetary. The research designed and installed environmental light sensors and Internet of Things infrastructure in two sites—one rural and one urban—to capture the temporal patterns of natural and artificial light. The observations collected were used to create timepieces that reflect diurnal, circalunar, and seasonal cycles. This hybrid approach to timekeeping harmonizes human time standards with ecological and planetary rhythms and promotes an awareness of the environmental impact of artificial light at night and a broader environmental consciousness. Interdisciplinary methods were used, drawing from the geohumanities, time studies, night studies, design, electronic engineering, and creative practices to foster a connection between people and their surroundings and encourage stewardship toward urban and natural environments. Participatory workshops demonstrated how localized, sensor-driven art installations can influence public perceptions and behaviours regarding artificial light and its ecological consequences. Keywords: Urban nature, time studies, artificial light at night.