This thesis paper will be an examination of the use of light in the Memorial des martyrs de la deportation, Paris and the its effect on the experience of that site.
The inspiration for this topic came from a visit to the Jewish museum in Berlin by Daniel Liebenskind. There natural light and contrast between dark en light areas is used masterfully to give the visitor a feeling approximating something that the victims of the holocaust might have felt. Loneliness, confusion, helplessness, etc. This visit left a fascination for the elegance of the architecture’s use of light to convey emotion.
This paper will research the case study of the Memorial des martyrs de la deportation on the Île de la Cité, Paris. This site was chosen because it shares the heavy emotions of the Jewish museum in Berlin, also being a holocaust memorial. And its architecture is quite simplistic in form, with the contrasts of natural and artificial lightings being a prominent aspect of the design of the site.
Two main methods will be used to come to a conclusion as to the way light is used to influence experience at the site of the case study. The first is relevant scientific literature describing the use of light in architecture, memorial architecture specifically, psycho-logical effects of light and sources specific to the case study site. Secondly, an expedition to the case study site to experience it first hand.