Light can be controlled through six properties: intensity, color, angle, distribution, quality and movement. These properties can be combined to achieve three, distinct characters of light: focal glow, ambient luminescence, and play of brilliants. Focal glow is the celebrated limelight that draws attention and separates the important from the unimportant. As an intense, focused light, the effect gives a significant composition of attention on the targeted space. Described as an uninterrupted light, ambient luminescence is equal to indirect lighting. The resulting effect is a shadowless illumination that blurs edges and minimizes the importance of all objects - giving everything a neutral light. This can be achieved through translucent ceilings or carefully positioned openings. Crystal chandeliers, sunlight on rippling brook, light breaking through trees, city night life - each a play of brilliants. This character excites optic nerves and awakens an inner curiosity. Whether the act is distracting or entertaining, it certainly has the ability to attract the eye. The word sacred can often be described as "holy and deserving of respect" and has traditionally always been associated with religious places. Today, it can be used to describe a state of mind and as a word to describe the world around us. In the journal review, Sacred Landscapes and the Phenomenon of Light by Barbara Weightman, sacred is described as a notion that "consecrates places and turns them from ordinary to blessed, regardless of if they are man-made or organically exist in nature." Weightman also implies that sacred places cannot exist without the attribute of light. She notes that "the interplay of light and darkness within religious structures is intrinsic to an evocation of the holy. The phenomenon of light clarifies sacred space and is vital to the experience of the holy." In looking to modern-day architectural examples, many of these concepts have been used to instill sacredness.
