The Role of Illumination in Integration and Differential Processes of Visual Perception of Temple Interior Architecture

Abstract

Despite Orthodox Christian temples have been actively being built over the last years in Moscow (as part of its programme of building 200 Orthodox churches), the problem of temple illumination is still understudied, and in view of this, the article addresses the temple interior architecture as a set of illuminated spatial compartments (temple zones) with different area lighting. A number of concepts is stated including the following: 1) a luminous environment of a temple is designed as a combined system of natural, artificial, and mixed interior lighting interacting with its architecture and decorations including light accents as well as different lighting effects within the interior; 2) temple illumination has several functions: assisting in church services, arrangement of spaces and compositions, visual and symbolic function, and utility function and, with all importance of daylight temple illumination, artificial and mixed illumination has the main semantic priority of temple lighting.