Analysis of Monumentality through Light

The last building of Kahn is the National Assembly located in Bangladesh. The life in the city of Bangladesh is drive by Islamic religion, Kahn thought about the National Assembly as a “religious atmosphere”. Even though the Assembly is related to the government more than with a religious institution Kahn’s vision was to incorporate the fundaments of religion to connect the building with the Bengali people. He sensed a “place of transcendence” and a place to connect the spirit with the mundane and thus create a strong connection with the people of Bangladesh.
In the following research this building will be analyzed to find the monumentality of the building, the main element to analyze is the light within the space, being an important element in Kahn’s architecture.
Several questions are formulated during the research:
1. What is monumentality?
2. How is monumentality achieved?
3. What is light?
4. What is light in Architecture?
5. What is light in Kahn’s Architecture?
6. What is Kahn’s definition of Monumentality?
7. Is light a key element to achieve Monumentality?