Composition and Contrast: The Painterly Nature of Architectural Exterior Illumination

CIE recommendations for architectural exterior illumination provide general guidelines for highlighting building forms, with emphasis on edges, curvature, and spatial layering. However, they do not explicitly address luminance contrast disposition—specifically, whether elements further from the viewer should appear brighter or if those closer should be more intensely lit. Inspiration for addressing this problem can be drawn from the principles of Renaissance and Baroque paintings, where techniques of working with light evolved from dramatic contrasts to more rational and balanced approaches, offering valuable models for contemporary illumination design. This study compares the principles of painting from that period with eye-tracking and survey-based methods to investigate whether the arrangement of luminance contrasts of illuminated building facades significantly influences viewers’ visual attention, aesthetic judgment, and perception of depth. The verification was conducted in two stages using three lighting variants of a selected architectural object. These variants differed in the luminance contrast distribution between surfaces closer to and farther from the observer, while maintaining a constant average luminance level across the entire façade of 10 cd/m2. The first stage analysed visual reactions of 116 (out of 178) participants to luminance changes across the multi-segmented façade, presented in a darkened room on a luminance-calibrated display. The second stage involved a survey in which 358 participants were asked about their lighting preferences. Participants—including both design professionals and laypeople—exhibited consistent perceptions regarding how different lighting configurations affected their impression of the building. The results revealed that luminance disposition significantly influenced the perceived volume of the structure, particularly the sense of depth. Eye-tracking data also indicated a strong positive correlation between subjective aesthetic assessments and patterns of visual attention.