Hui-Yi Yang

This project examines the role of darkness and shadow in domestic spaces from the Early Modern period to the twentieth century through three case studies. It approaches darkness and shadow as active spatial agents that shape how occupants negotiate visibility, interaction, separation, and access within the home. During this period, significant transformations in lighting technologies and family structures—from reliance on natural light, candles, and firelight to brighter artificial illumination, and from mixed-use households to more defined nuclear families—fundamentally altered domestic life, as well as in the perception and experience of darkness and privacy.

The focus on the home addresses a gap in existing research on darkness and shadows and their potential link to privacy. Studies of darkness have largely concentrated on public environments, particularly night-time urban settings, as well as leisure spaces and rural landscapes. In contrast, the experience of darkness within the home—where everyday social relations unfold—remains underexplored (Shaw, 2015). This study therefore shifts attention to the domestic interior, where darkness plays a more intimate and relational role in shaping family life. Light and shadow are understood here as spatial zones with distinct characteristics (Madsen, 2007). Drawing on phenomenological perspectives, the study examines how darkness shapes perceptions of self and others, enabling occupants to modulate their relationships through varying degrees of openness, intimacy, and access.

The project is funded by The Danish National Research Foundation Centre for Privacy Studies (PRIVACY) and Royal Danish Academy. The PhD project is supervised by associate professor, Natalie Koerner, Institute of Architecture and Space and co-supervised by Katja Bülow, Institute of Architecture and Space.