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tion and connection can be varied in graduated ways. De-
pending on their forms and positioning, openings endow a
room with contrasting directionality and gesture. By virtue of
their vertical orientation, roof openings – such as the opaion
of the Pantheon – create vertical connections to the skies with
a highly direct impact when they admit not only stark ze-
nithal light, but also natural elements such as rainfall. Slits
situated directly beneath the ceiling, especially when they run
the entire length of the walls, as at Le Corbusier’s Church at
Ronchamp, allow the ceiling to float above the room. Since
human perception is oriented primarily horizontally, we feel
robbed of contact with the outside world in rooms with open-
ings set exclusively above eye level. Openings directly above
the floor illuminate the floor zone in particular, endowing it
with a specific quality by inviting us to be seated there, one in-
stance of this being the Japanese tatami room. Here, too, the
> wall becomes detached from the floor, especially when the
floor level continues into the space outside. Vertical wall slits
in the corners of the room cast a raking light on the adjacent
wall surfaces, which allow the space outside to flow inward
together with the light from the outside.
Small apertures and skylights generate various > atmos-
pheres through selective light effects without really opening
up the room, and without the need to attend to requirements
for views into and out of the space. By these means, for ex-
ample, > darkness can be generated as an element of a room’s
mood, i.e. through tiny openings that allow only a weak glim-
mer of light to enter. Rays of sunlight that wander across the
walls through these individual apertures testify to the passage
of > time. In combination with large openings that provide the
room with a background level of lighting, small, light holes
or slits can provide darker zones with selective illumination
and accents. A differentiated distribution of special gaps and
individual openings such as spy holes, pass-throughs, trap
doors or hatches organizes specialized movements and action
sequences in a building.