Light and Life in the Sahara Across the vast landscapes of the Sahara, light has always played a vital role in daily life. For the Tuareg people, a nomadic culture spread across North Africa, lanterns are not simply decorative objects — they are practical tools shaped by the demands of desert living and long-distance travel. …
Light and Balance in Japanese Gardens Japanese stone lanterns, known as tōrō, are a traditional feature of temple grounds and gardens, where light is used with restraint and purpose. Rather than illuminating a space fully, these lanterns create a soft, guiding glow that enhances calm, balance, and reflection. Often found along pathways, near water, or …
Light and Celebration During Ramadan Throughout the month of Ramadan, streets, homes, and shops across Egypt glow with colourful lanterns known as fanous. These decorative lights are one of the most recognisable symbols of the holy month, bringing warmth and festivity to evenings marked by reflection, prayer, and community. As daylight fades and families gather …
Every spring, the streets and temples of Korea glow with thousands of colourful lanterns celebrating one of the most important events in the Buddhist calendar — the birth of the Buddha. Known as the Yeondeunghoe Lantern Festival, this centuries-old celebration transforms cities with light, colour, and spiritual symbolism. At the centre of the festival is …
Light as Ceremony In Korea, light has long marked moments of transition. Lanterns do more than illuminate a path; they signal meaning, belonging, and ritual. When a lantern appears in a procession, it is rarely decorative alone. It carries symbolism shaped by centuries of cultural practice. Among the most recognisable of these forms is the …
Light Before Architecture Long before permanent buildings, electricity, or even metalworking, humans shaped light. In the Indian subcontinent, this shaping took the form of the diya — a simple oil lamp made from earth, flame, and intention. Diyas are among the world’s oldest decorative lighting objects still in continuous use. They are not merely tools …
Between Fire and Electricity Lighting did not leap suddenly from flame to filament. For centuries, illumination existed in a transitional state — part fire, part craft, part early engineering. Transitional lighting objects emerged during this period, carrying the visual language of flame while quietly adapting to new technologies. These objects matter because they reveal how …
Light Made Solid Long before electric lighting transformed interiors, European designers were already shaping and amplifying light through material alone. Bohemian crystal emerged not simply as decoration, but as a lighting material — a tool for controlling brightness, sparkle, and atmosphere. Produced in the historic region of Bohemia — now part of the Czech Republic …
A Monument Carved From Stone Hidden deep within the desert canyons of southern Jordan lies one of the most extraordinary architectural achievements of the ancient world: Al-Khazneh, known today as The Treasury of Petra. Carved directly into rose-red sandstone over 2,000 years ago by the Nabataeans, this monumental façade was not built from blocks or …