Wednesday, October 13, 2010

On Lights and Light

As we walked past Vienna's glowing Cafe Central one evening...


I noticed these illuminated glass blocks in the sidewalk that provide daylight to the cellar below...


which reminds me of the great idea shipbuilders had in the mid-1800s. They would embed glass prisms into the decks of ships to provide a scattered light to lower decks. I'm thinking someday I'll put a deck prism into the roof of my backyard shed to get light into the space without electricity. Click HERE for photos and the full story about deck prisms and why a prism is more effective than a glass block. If you'd like, you can also order a reproduction (they happen to be on sale now). A friend of mine has one on his office desk. It makes quite a hefty paperweight and conversation piece.

2 comments:

  1. hi there, i'd like to use your image of the illuminated glass bricks in Vienna, to try and describe what refurbished bricks like this can look like. hope ok?

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