The Sequence in Grating Residential House

"Light not only travels in straight lines, refracts and reflects, but it can also travel in a fourth way, through diffraction.", Francesco Grimaldi said. Light is the best designer of space given by God. When light shines on various materials, it will produce various optical phenomena, which are reflected in the space, such as grating diffraction. Light is like a poet, telling stories and ideas in space.

Recording the process of light moving in space is like writing a diary. If the paper is large enough, more content can be recorded. Therefore, we demolished relatively unimportant rooms in the space to improve the lighting effect of the space. In fact, it also made the living room more usable and allowed family members to spend more time communicating in the living room. This is the wonderful influence of space design.

It took me 1-2 months to finish the design concept.

Evolution of Light Diffraction Concept in The Sequence in GratingThe Sequence in Grating Residential House began with a fascination for diffraction as the “fourth way” light travels—beyond straight lines, refraction, and reflection. Inspired by Francesco Grimaldi’s observation that light can diffract through periodic structures, the design team set out to let light itself shape and narrate the interior space.1. Conceptual InspirationEarly design charrettes revolved around the idea of finding order within a disordered footprint by using light as both medium and message. Framing the home as a living “carrier” that records time through shifting illumination, the team envisioned a series of layered screens and voids. This conceptual seed aimed to let natural and artificial sources weave together, producing ever-changing optical phenomena reminiscent of grating diffraction.2. Early Spatial StrategiesTo maximize light interplay, the architects:- Removed non-essential partitions to open up the living area, increasing daylight penetration.- Introduced “virtual” facades—translucent partitions that sit in front of solid walls—so sunbeams and luminaires would cast shifting shadows.- Established a tone-on-tone color scheme, unifying surfaces so patterns of light and shadow become the primary visual interest.3. Material & Fixture ExperimentsIterative prototyping in the studio tested how different assemblies diffract and diffuse light across the day:- Irregular wood veneer facade divisions that break up incoming beams.- Wooden grille cabinet doors over backlit cavities.- Aluminum extruded light bars installed behind grilles to generate alternating bands of brightness.- A pendant “island chandelier” composed of glass modules sequenced like a diffraction grating.- Hunter Douglas Luminette® Shades silk curtains arranged in regular folds.- Strategic removal of one bedroom to enlarge the core living zone and amplify light-and-shadow dynamics.- Selection of timeless materials—stone and metal—that serve as stable canvases for ephemeral light effects.4. Final Implementation and Spatial ExperienceIn the completed home, daylight filters through layered screens and grilles, producing fine, lace-like shadows that shift as the sun travels. After dusk, concealed LEDs behind extruded bars and glass pendants recreate these diffraction patterns, extending the poetic dialogue between light and form. The consistent white-and-tone color palette ensures that material textures and the owner’s art collection are subtly animated by these luminous sequences.

Inspiration: Grating Diffraction ReimaginedThe wooden grille began as a literal translation of an optical diffraction grating—slender slits that fragment and choreograph light. By echoing Francesco Grimaldi’s “fourth way” of light travel, these fine wooden strips become active participants in the spatial narrative, casting lace-like shadows that shift with the sun and concealed LEDs.Crafting the Wooden Grille: Precision in Profile and Hue- 10 × 10 mm ProfileMirrors the narrow slits of a diffraction grating, offering tight control over light passage and shadow banding.- Water-Dyed VeneerInfuses each strip with consistent, saturated tones that celebrate natural wood grain without overpowering the tone-on-tone palette.- Modular AssemblyUniform dimensions simplify off-site fabrication and on-site installation, ensuring precise tolerances and minimal waste.Together, these meticulously crafted grilles transform light into a living diary—each beam and shadow recording moments of the day, while the water-dyed surfaces add depth and warmth, knitting functional precision with poetic atmosphere.

Pantheon’s Light and Temporal Spatial ExperienceThe Pantheon’s oculus floods its vast rotunda with a single, focused beam of sunlight that traverses the interior throughout the day and seasons. This dramatic illumination not only reveals the dome’s form but also embeds the passage of time into the spatial narrative.Ando’s Precision Apertures and Concrete LightTadao Ando sculpts natural light as though it were a material, cutting narrow apertures, deep reveals, and clerestories into heavy concrete walls. These carefully calibrated openings create stark contrasts of light and shadow, animating surfaces and guiding movement through each space.Translating Precedents into Grating DiffractionDrawing from these precedents, The Sequence in Grating uses a field of 10 × 10 mm wooden strips arranged like an optical diffraction grating. This system fragments incoming daylight much like the Pantheon’s singular oculus beam while echoing Ando’s precision apertures through modular, semi-transparent screens that merge virtual and solid facades.A Contemporary Diary of LightBy integrating irregular wood veneer divisions, aluminum extruded light bars behind grille doors, and tone-on-tone surfaces, the design choreographs both natural and artificial light into an ever-shifting “diary.” Each flicker of shadow and glow of LED extends the poetic dialogue between time, material, and memory, letting light itself compose the interior’s story.