Circadian House

Circadian House is a design project for a small house lit entirely by natural light. Sunlight penetrates the house from sunrise to sunset through eleven skylight ‘nozzles’, at the specific locations and times when (and where) the two meta-humans who occupy the building undertake their daily activities. The orientation of the nozzles, in terms of their altitude and azimuth angles, is set for the summer solstice (21 June) at the latitude of Lausanne. This determines their geometry and thus the form of the building.

The work is inspired by circadian rhythm and daylight research. In the same way that body time is regulated by diverse biological ‘clocks’ in every cell, and synchronised daily by non-visual perception of light, so does the life of a house manifest itself through changing light conditions and through the regular rhythms of the activities that take place within it, both acting as ‘zeitgebers’ to entrain our biological clocks. In the Circadian House, the solar rays are used to spotlight the key activities of the occupants during the day, in a choreography of successive light events, giving a sense of harmony and well-being.

The Circadian House seeks to promote physical health and general wellbeing by synchronising the circadian rhythms of its occupants to the 24-hour day-night cycle and to seasonal changes in daylighting. Through its multiple openings, providing views of the surrounding environment and of the changing positions of the sun in the sky, as well as by capturing ambient sounds, air movements and temperature fluctuations, the Circadian House offers a sensorial awareness of the passage of time and seasons, a comforting sense of place, of being grounded in the ‘here and now’.

This installation is designed in two parts: sketches, sculptures and art objects on the one hand, and an interactive 3D installation on the other. This prototype is thus the 'digital twin' of a 'real' building that would be an environment for daylight research in humans

Circadian House is presented in the form of physical models, 3D prints, hand-drawings and small items of jewellery.

In the second part of the installation, Circadian House is presented as an interactive and immersive 3D ‘digital twin’ within which visitors can engage in the lives of its’ inhabitants.