Dr. Ioannis Iliades My name is Ioannis Iliades. I am a Dr. Electrical Engineer and Lighting Engineer and I worked at the Greek Ministry of Culture - 12th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities in Kavala from 1979 until 2012. Since 2013 I am a scientific collaborator of the Ephorate of Antiquities in Kavala.
I was a lecturer of Lighting Design in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of Demokritean University of Thrace and the Technological Education Institution of Kavala-Greece.
I participated in conferences in Greece and abroad and my papers were published in international journals.
I have studied and designed the artificial and natural lighting for exhibition rooms in museums and monuments. In addition, I have designed and implemented projects on natural lighting in byzantine churches in Greece and Cyprus, such as :
-The Rotunda of Thessalonike
-The Byzantine church of Panagia Kosmosoteira at Pherrai
- Post- byzantine churches in Thasos
- Holy Apostles in Thessalonike
- Panagia Chalkeon in Thessalonike
- The Unesco Byzantine Monuments of Cyprus
The aesthetic effect of light in byzantine churches can be achieved either with the help of the exterior natural light, which passes through the windows and inside the naos, and in some way, keeps the faithful in touch with the reality of tangible world, or through the emanating light of the shapes, the colors and the symbols of iconography.
However, many times in contemporary restoration projects, either common glass panes are placed in the windows’ frames which permit the entrance to over the 90% of the quantity of the sunlight, or colored glass panes, which changes the colour of the incoming natural light and as a result the initial colours of the frescoes and the mosaics. This effect causes false images to the visitor and creates certain aesthetics of space which does not comply with those of byzantine church.
Consequently, the quality of glass panes in the windows is an important factor concerning the restoration of a byzantine church. This presentation is focused on this subject.
Specifically:
– Brief description of glass types from byzantine churches’ windows
– Description of the new light conditions inside the church after setting up new glass panes
– Set of measurements with a portable light meter the lux and the colour of the natural light passing through the glass panes coming from excavation sites
– Recommendation of glass panels types which can be placed at windows’ frames in order to ensure that incoming light highlights the colors of the representations and emerges the spirituality of the church’s interior.