Lina Ghotmeh

Windows of Light

“Windows of Light” by renowned Lebanese-born architect Lina Ghotmeh is an exploration of light as both a physical phenomenon and a social connector. Presented as field notes, the research delves into the symbolism, myths, and innovations surrounding light, illustrating its fundamental role in shaping our biological, astronomical, and architectural environments. Anchoring the many representations of light is a photographic essay that reminds us that access to artificial light in many regions of the world remains a privilege rather than a right.

 

The book’s first chapter, “Archeology of Light,” investigates light’s origins, measurement, and capture across diverse cultures, bringing forward marginalized and non-Western perspectives through a series of illustrations. “Without Light” unfolds as a photographic essay by Laurian Ghinițoiu documenting Beirut’s electricity crisis and features the Stone Garden Housing project realised by Lina Ghotmeh – Architecture. The final chapter, “Material Light,” showcases a series of ink drawings by the architect, offering personal reflections on the relationship of light, water, and the natural world. Windows of Light is a richly layered narrative that connects past and present, offering a new lens through which to view the integral role of light in our lives.

“Windows of Light” by renowned Lebanese-born architect Lina Ghotmeh is an exploration of light as both a physical phenomenon and a social connector. Presented as field notes, the research delves into the symbolism, myths, and innovations surrounding light, illustrating its fundamental role in shaping our biological, astronomical, and architectural environments. Anchoring the many representations of light is a photographic essay that reminds us that access to artificial light in many regions of the world remains a privilege rather than a right.

 

The book’s first chapter, “Archeology of Light,” investigates light’s origins, measurement, and capture across diverse cultures, bringing forward marginalized and non-Western perspectives through a series of illustrations. “Without Light” unfolds as a photographic essay by Laurian Ghinițoiu documenting Beirut’s electricity crisis and features the Stone Garden Housing project realised by Lina Ghotmeh – Architecture. The final chapter, “Material Light,” showcases a series of ink drawings by the architect, offering personal reflections on the relationship of light, water, and the natural world. Windows of Light is a richly layered narrative that connects past and present, offering a new lens through which to view the integral role of light in our lives.

Author(s): Lina Ghotmeh

Edited in collaboration with Zumtobel Group

Design: Lina Ghotmeh – Architecture

22,5 × 30 cm, 8 ¾ × 11 ¾ in

288 pages, 439 illustrations

hardback

2024, 978-3-03778-776-2, English
$ 60.00

Lina Ghotmeh

Lina Ghotmeh

Lina Ghotmeh is a Lebanese-born Paris-based architect and founder of the award-winning practice Lina Ghotmeh — Architecture, renowned for sustainable and ecologically sensitive designs. Among the firm’s most notable works is Stone Garden in Beirut, winner of the Dezeen Award for Project of the Year (2021) and exhibited at the Venice Biennale, MAXXI in Rome and the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York. Other significant projects include the 22nd Serpentine Pavilion (2023) in London, Ateliers Hermès (France’s first low-carbon, energy-positive building), the Estonian National Museum and the Bahrain Pavilion for Expo 2025 in Osaka. Ghotmeh’s practice is also behind the upcoming redesign of the Western Range galleries of the British Museum, the Qatar’s permanent pavilion of the Venice Biennale and the AlUla Contemporary Art Museum in Saudi Arabia.
Lina Ghotmeh has held prestigious academic positions, including the Louis I. Kahn Professorship at Yale, the Gehry Chair at the University of Toronto (2021–2022) and the Kenzo Tange Professorship at Harvard GSD (2024).
Her work has earned numerous accolades, including the 2023 Architecture and Design Award from the Great Arab Minds Initiative, the 2020 Schelling Architecture Award and the French Architecture Académie’s Prix Dejean (2016). In 2025, Ghotmeh was appointed Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, was honored on TIME’s prestigious TIME100 Next list and was distinguished as Architect of the Year by the Iconic Awards 2025. That same year, she was named among the most influential figures in the art world in Observer’s Art Power Index 2025. In 2026, she was recognized as Architect of the Year by the Wallpaper* Design Awards.