A dynamic screen of illuminated, rotating polycarbonate discs shield the upper level of this home in Melbourne, completed by Layan for the director of local lighting design practice The Flaming Beacon.
Layan has extended and renovated a heritage-protected worker's cottage to create Light House. The Melbourne studio added new spaces to the rear and above the original structure and introducing a central courtyard to bring light and ventilation deep into the home, while preserving the original rooms at the home's front.

As the client was the director of a lighting design studio, light was considered extremely carefully within the project's design.
"The lighting for this project was considered more than most, and the client worked meticulously in selecting and designing the lighting system and fittings," explained the architecture studio.
A key part of this strategy was installing a screen surrounding the upper level bedroom, constructed from a total of 907 polycarbonate disks attached to 67 rotating steel tubes.
"The screen provided and opportunity to not only modulate the character of light throughout the year, but to also become the primary illuminated space at night for the internal spaces", explained the architects.

Set back from the front of the home to minimise its visual impact on the area, this new lantern-like upper level provides a bright counterpoint to the more intimate lower-level spaces.
During the day, the rotating screen casts pattern...