Vault light
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Pavement lights (UK), vault lights (US), floor lights, or sidewalk prisms are flat-topped walk-on skylights, usually set into pavement (sidewalks) or floors to let sunlight into the space below. They often use anidolic lighting prisms to throw the light sideways under the building. They were developed in the 19th century, but declined in popularity with the advent of cheap electric lighting. Older cities and smaller centers around the world have or have had pavement lights. Most such lights are approximately a century old, although lights are being installed in some new construction.


Uses

Sidewalk prisms are a method of
daylighting Daylighting is the practice of placing windows, skylights, other openings, and reflective surfaces so that sunlight (direct or indirect) can provide effective internal lighting. Particular attention is given to daylighting while designing a b ...
basements, and are able to serve as a sole source of illumination during the day. At night, lighting in the basements beneath produces a glowing sidewalk. Vault lights may be used to make subterranean space useful. They are more common in city centers, dense, high-rent areas where space is valuable. Historically, landlords took an interest in improving not only the
floor area ratio Floor area ratio (FAR) is the ratio of a building's total floor area (gross floor area) to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built. It is often used as one of the regulations in city planning along with the building-to-land ratio. The ...
, but the amount of space that was naturally lit, on the grounds that this was profitable. Occupiers valued daylight not only as a way of saving on artificial lighting costs (which were higher historically), but also as a way to let premises remain cooler in summer, and a way to save on ventilation costs (if using
gas lighting Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directly ...
rather than
arc lamp An arc lamp or arc light is a lamp that produces light by an electric arc (also called a voltaic arc). The carbon arc light, which consists of an arc between carbon electrodes in air, invented by Humphry Davy in the first decade of the 1800s, ...
s or early
incandescent light An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb with a vacuum or inert gas to protect the filament from oxidat ...
s). Pavement lights and related products were historically marketed as a way of saving on artificial lighting costs and making space more usable and pleasant. Modern studies of similar daylighting technology provide evidence for those claims. Vault lights also are used in floors under glass roofs, for example in Budapest's historic and New York's mostly-demolished old Pennsylvania Station . Vault lights also could be set into the basement floor, underneath other vault lights, creating a double-deck arrangement, which would light the subbasement. Manhole covers and coalhole covers with lighting elements were also made. Some steps have vault lights set into the vertical
stair riser Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...
s.


History

A basement that extends below a sidewalk or pavement is called an areaway, a sidewalk vault, or a hollow sidewalk. In some cities, these areaways were created by the raising of the street level to combat floods, and in some cases they form an (often now abandoned) tunnel network. To light these spaces, sidewalks incorporated gratings, which were a trip hazard and let water and street dirt as well as light into the basement. Replacing the open gratings with glass was an obvious improvement.


Frames

Sidewalk prisms developed from deck prisms, which were used to let light through the decks of ships. The earliest pavement light (Rockwell, 1834) used a single large round glass lens set in an iron frame. The large lens was directly exposed to traffic, and if the lens broke, a large hole was left in the pavement, which was potentially unsafe for pedestrians. Thaddeus Hyatt corrected these faults with his "Hyatt light" of 1854. Many small lenses ("bull's-eyes") were set in a
wrought-iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" t ...
frame, (later
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuri ...
), and the frame included raised nubs around each lens to improve traction in wet weather and to protect them from damage and wear. Even if all the lenses were broken out, the panel would still be safe to walk on. In the 1930s, London authorities ruled that glass sections could not be larger than 100 mm by 100 mm. Modern
glass floor Glass floors are made with transparent glass when it is useful to view something from above or below; whereas translucent glass is used when there is no need to view through. In either case, toughened glass is usually chosen, for its durabilit ...
s are made of
laminated Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance, or other properties from the use of the differing materia ...
and
toughened glass Tempered or toughened glass is a type of safety glass processed by controlled thermal or chemical treatments to increase its strength compared with normal glass. Tempering puts the outer surfaces into compression and the interior into tens ...
pavers, which can be substantially larger. They have an upper protective layer that can be replaced if it becomes chipped or cracked. The top surface of the pavers may also be chosen and treated to improve traction. Wrought iron, cast iron, and stainless steel frames have all been used.
Reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low ultimate tensile strength, tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion ...
slabs began to replace iron frames in the 1890s in New York. Benefits claimed included less condensation (due to the lower
thermal conductivity The thermal conductivity of a material is a measure of its ability to conduct heat. It is commonly denoted by k, \lambda, or \kappa. Heat transfer occurs at a lower rate in materials of low thermal conductivity than in materials of high thermal ...
) and a less slippery surface when wet. Concrete panels may be pre-cast or cast in-situ. Late concrete panels often were made with metal-framed "armored prisms", which were intended to prevent breakage and make replacing individual prisms easier. The glass is not cast into the concrete but caulked into the frame. Rather than chiselling out the old glass, the glass can be popped out of the frame. Translucent concrete has also been proposed as a floor material. This would essentially make it a vault light with very small ( fiberoptic) lighting elements. It also innately redirects the light from the angle of incidence to an angle ~parallel to the optical fibers (usually, perpendicular to the surface of the concrete).


Transparent elements

The transparent elements may be referred to as prisms or lenses (depending on shape), or as jewels.


Glass color

The glass in many old pavement lights is now either purple or straw-colored. This is a side-effect of the manufacturing process. Pure
silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is ...
glass is transparent, but older glass manufacture often used silica from sand, which contains iron and other impurities. Iron produces a greenish tint in the finished glass. To remove this effect, a "decolorizer" such as
manganese dioxide Manganese dioxide is the inorganic compound with the formula . This blackish or brown solid occurs naturally as the mineral pyrolusite, which is the main ore of manganese and a component of manganese nodules. The principal use for is for dry-ce ...
("glassmakers' soap") was added during the manufacture of the glass. When exposed to
ultraviolet light Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30  PHz) to 400 nm (750  THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiatio ...
, the manganese slowly "solarizes", turning purple, which is why many existing sidewalk prisms are now purple. WWI increased demand for manganese in the US and cut off the supply of high-grade ore from Germany, so
selenium dioxide Selenium dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula SeO2. This colorless solid is one of the most frequently encountered compounds of selenium. Properties Solid SeO2 is a one-dimensional polymer, the chain consisting of alternating seleniu ...
was used as a decolorizer instead. Selenium also solarizes, but to a straw color. Replacement glass that has been tinted purple deliberately, in order to match the current colour, has been used in some historic restoration projects.


Glass shape

In 1871 London, Hayward Brothers patented their "semi- prism": changing the shape of the glass by adding pendant prisms to the underside reflects the light sideways, allowing it to light the area under the main building. The pendant shapes were right-angle ("half") prisms, which reflected all incoming light sideways. The horizontal ridges protruding from the top of the prism let it be set into an opening in an iron or cement grating. Some cast glass pendant prisms have flat portions to shed light directly below, as well as throwing it sideways under the main body of the building (see image). Some prisms were made with multiple pendant prisms, either as a Fresnel-lens-like sheet of identical prisms ("multi") or a sheet of dissimilar prisms that could distribute the light ("three-way" etc.). The precise angles at which the prisms
refracted In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomeno ...
or reflected light was important. An installation would generally consist of multiple different prescriptions of prism, chosen either by an on-site expert contractor or by a layman using standard algorithms. This also would diffuse the light somewhat, as would the rough glass surfaces (the lenses are
translucent In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale (one in which the dimensions ...
, not transparent). Larger castings are more expensive, not only because they use more glass, but because they take longer to cool. Modern
glass floor Glass floors are made with transparent glass when it is useful to view something from above or below; whereas translucent glass is used when there is no need to view through. In either case, toughened glass is usually chosen, for its durabilit ...
s use
laminate Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance, or other properties from the use of the differing materia ...
sheet glass some centimeters (more than an inch) thick; it often is transparent.


Non-glass translucent materials

Synthetic resin Synthetic resins are industrially produced resins, typically viscous substances that convert into rigid polymers by the process of curing. In order to undergo curing, resins typically contain reactive end groups, such as acrylates or epoxides. ...
composites (such as
fiberglass Fiberglass ( American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cl ...
), as well as plastics such as
Lexan Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, tough materials, and some grades are optically transparent. They are easily worke ...
, have been proposed to replace missing prism lights. Translucent decking panels made of fiberglass are often used for
balconies A balcony (from it, balcone, "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. Types The traditional Maltese balcony is ...
which would otherwise shade the windows below them. Peel-and-stick prism films recently have come on the market, with acrylic micro-prisms that internally reflect light somewhat like glass pendant prisms.


Structure

File:Lucidux daylighting.gif, alt=Diagram of prisms in a pavement bending light to hit a wall of glass prims lying directly under and in line with the basement wall, which bend the light further to the horizontal, Two-stage refraction system for basement lighting; prism wall below center, shop above left. Note
I-beam An I-beam, also known as H-beam (for universal column, UC), w-beam (for "wide flange"), universal beam (UB), rolled steel joist (RSJ), or double-T (especially in Polish, Bulgarian, Spanish, Italian and German), is a beam with an or -shap ...
and
masonry wall Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...
. File:Prism salesroom.gif, alt=A brightly-lit room with the inside edge lined with carrell desks. The ceiling is made of pendant prisms, supported by a very unobtrusive frame (which is in turn supported at wide intervals by slender diagonal braces from the walls). The wall over the desks is made of
prism tiles Prism lighting is the use of prisms to improve the distribution of light in a space. It is usually used to distribute daylight, and is a form of anidolic lighting. Prism lighting was popular from its introduction in the 1890s through to the 193 ...
., The same system used to light a salesroom inside a hollow sidewalk; prism wall is on the right File:Daylit basement 112 state st.jpg, alt=A black-and-white photo of an unfurnished basement, horizontally lit with diffuse light. It has a pale coffered ceiling, with thickish round pillars supporting the intersections of the beams. The lower half of both pillars and walls is covered with dark wood panelling. The bare floor is pale grey., A basement daylit by sidewalk prisms (prisms out-of-shot to the left)
In some cases, a second vertical curtain of prisms was installed under the building sill. These were analogous to the prism transoms used over above-ground windows and doors. The light could be bent in two stages and used to daylight the whole basement. The areaway under a sidewalk light usually has a masonry wall separating it from the soil under the street, although it may extend partly under the street. Support for the vault light frames varies. Steel cross-beams supported by columns are common in older buildings; metal decks are common in newer ones.


Current state and trends


Manufacture, maintenance, and repair

Some modern pavement lights are quite different from historic ones, so restoration and replacement may use different techniques and parts. A few companies now manufacture and sell vault lights, either as glass-only, prefab panels, or installation.
Construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and ...
methods and prices vary widely. Historically, glass lenses were standardized by each manufacturer; some modern manufacturers produce standardized prisms. Some firms also supply replacement glass castings to order. Cost varies greatly; shapes needing complicated articulated moulds are more expensive. Modern
caulking Caulk or, less frequently, caulking is a material used to seal joints or seams against leakage in various structures and piping. The oldest form of caulk consisted of fibrous materials driven into the wedge-shaped seams between boards on ...
materials are used for caulking in replacement glass. Broken and damaged frames can be patched, re-welded, or re-cast. Generally speaking, restoration requires only simple tools and technology. Promptly repairing sidewalk cracks, and avoiding
de-ice Deicing is the process of removing snow, ice or frost from a surface. Anti-icing is the application of chemicals that not only deice but also remain on a surface and continue to delay the reformation of ice for a certain period of time, or prev ...
rs that will corrode metal, helps keep the supporting structure dry and in good repair. Keeping a sidewalk light watertight does not cost much in time or materials. Vaults generally last many decades, and many extant vaults are more than a century old.


Reuse and preservation

Despite their reusability and repairability, old panels often are landfilled. However, the city of
Victoria, Canada Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The ...
is stockpiling removed pavement light panels for future restoration projects. Often, individual broken sidewalk prisms are not replaced, but instead, the opening is filled with concrete or other opaque materials, such as metal, wood, and asphalt. When a building is renovated, vault lights may be removed or concreted over. For instance, the floor of New York's mostly-demolished old Pennsylvania Station was made of vault lights, to let light through the concourse floor onto the platforms. The undersides of the lights can still be seen, but the tops have been concreted over (see images). While some cities have preservation measures for vault lights, others actively remove them and fill areaways. Sometimes the outside appearance of the lights is retained while filling the areaway and setting the lights in a concrete pad, removing their daylighting function. Some areaways are "mothballed"; that is, filled with gravel that could later be removed. Areaways are used in some cities as a convenient place to run utilities, which may make the cities reluctant to give areaways legal protection. In some cases, utility construction leads to areaways being filled.


Load-bearing strength

The load-bearing strength of vault lights varies widely with span, construction, and state of repair. Some damaged vaults may not be able to support a fire engine, which a sidewalk vault in sound condition should be able to do. Many jurisdictions do not have regulations on the load-bearing capacity of pavement lights, and manufacturers may develop their own loading standards, in compliance with local fire department regulations. The load-bearing capacity of pavement lights can be tested, and lights can be designed and built to specific load-bearing capacities. Damp areaways may corrode the steel load-bearing elements supporting the pavement roof. Moisture may come from leakage from above or from groundwater from below.


Current installations

*
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
, The Netherlands, has vault lights, some of which have been documented by the Netherlands Department for Conservation. * Astoria, Oregon, has a community program for restoring vault lights, funded by the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association. A volunteer plan to replace broken glass with squares of
Lexan Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, tough materials, and some grades are optically transparent. They are easily worke ...
, topped with
resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on nat ...
embedded with glass teardrops, was prevented by legislation. *
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
, Hungary, has vault lights in one of its tourist sites, the
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
-period mall on Ferenciek tere (Square of the Franciscans). The mall has unusual, decorative pavement lights let into its polychrome tile floor, to allow light from the glass dome skylights into the basement level. There also are vault lights in other locations, such as in the old post office building. *
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
, Illinois, has extremely extensive sidewalk vaults, but many of them do not have vault lights. There is no inventory of them. The city is filling in all vaults, as some are structurally unsound. See also the raising of Chicago. * Deadwood, South Dakota, funded a major restoration and maintenance project for vault lights in approximately 2000. *
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
, Ireland has many vault lights. *
Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
, New Zealand has well-preserved Luxfer and Hayward Brothers vault lights. *
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, England has many vault lights, many made by the Hayward Brothers.
Historic preservation legislation History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as wel ...
encourages a market in new pavement lights. *
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
has large numbers of vault lights, mostly in the SoHo district. More than half of the subway stations originally had vault lights, but these had mostly been blocked off. Installing and restoring vault lights has become part of modern construction practices. The city government has no policies or records about vault lights. *
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
, Pennsylvania has numerous vault lights, some of them locally manufactured. * Portland, Oregon has prisms at several locations. It has no preservation project for its prisms, however, and fills those that break with concrete. There is some local opposition to the policy. See also Portland Underground. *
Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foothi ...
, South Africa has Hayward vault lights. *
Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
, California has "hollow sidewalks", which originated when the city raised its street level to combat floods; some of these spaces are lit by vault lights. There are many stories told about these areas. * Salem, Oregon has an extensive tunnel network with vault lights. Historians have found a mural-painted grocery drop, a disco, a swimming pool, a firing range, opium dens, and bordellos in the tunnels. Guided tours are sometimes conducted in the tunnels. The Go Downtown Salem! Board welcomed the idea of regular underground tours. Many of the tunnels have been filled during sewer construction. *
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
, California has sixteen-sided pavement jewels of the "Searchlight" brand. *
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
evaluates the lights as having little historic value, and as a safety hazard for pedestrians. Most of the lights have been removed. The
City Lights Bookstore City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination in San Francisco, California, that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected ti ...
has vault lights. *
Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
, Saskatchewan has had sidewalk prisms. They have been used in music videos, and a Facebook group fought to save them. They were scheduled to be infilled in 2015. *
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
, Washington raised its street level, by up to 22 feet in some places, in the aftermath of the
Great Seattle Fire The Great Seattle Fire was a fire that destroyed the entire central business district of Seattle, Washington on June 6, 1889. The conflagration lasted for less than a day, burning through the afternoon and into the night, and during the same sum ...
of 1889. Previously, the Pioneer Square area had flooded tidally. Seattle replaced some of its sidewalk vault lights in Pioneer Square with new pre-purpled ones in 2002. Seattle runs tourist trips through its underground. *
Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and
< ...
, Mexico has armoured unsolarized vault lights in the 1919 Casa de la Cultura. *
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, Ontario once had many vault lights, but the last known remaining example were in front of the shops at 2869 Dundas Street West (near Keele) until 2011. *
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...
, British Columbia has an unofficial policy of requiring any applicants for development permits to fill in areaways, although some have been paved over or made sufficiently load-bearing to support a fire engine. Some of the remaining areaways have restaurants built into them. A walking map of the sidewalk prisms has been produced. There are ~130 remaining areaways, the records of which are not digitised, and no measures exist to promote their preservation. *
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
, British Columbia has more than eleven thousand sidewalk prisms in seven locations (as of 2006), including an underground gallery running around an entire block outside the Yarrow Building. More than 670 of the prisms are missing or filled with concrete. Sidewalk prisms have been heritage-registered since 1990. Originally, there were hundreds of thousands of prisms. The city has some panels in storage for restoration, but is having difficulty finding a glass supplier. There are city plans to light the galleries below at night, creating glowing purple sidewalks in the downtown core. While they are protected, there is no funding for the preservation of sidewalk prisms.


Gallery

File:Budapešť, Belváros, Váci út, Parisi udvar.JPG, alt=A rather Gothick 18th-century indoor mall, with high round-arched ceilings and ornate pendants from the roof., The in Budapest, with pavement lights let into its polychrome tile floor to allow light from the glass dome skylights into the basement level
details
File:Toronto BCE Place at night.jpg, alt=A towering metal gridwork
catenary arch A catenary arch is a type of architectural arch that follows an inverted catenary curve. The catenary curve has been employed in buildings since ancient times. It forms an underlying principle to the overall system of vaults and buttresses i ...
forms a gallery over a shiny concrete concourse inset with glowing grids of glass. Beyond the arch, city lights of tall buildings are visible. A four-story historic stone buildign stands to the left; a plain modern building rises out of sight to the right., The Brookfield Place in Toronto, Canada, at night File:Luik Gare Liège-Guillemins.jpg, alt=A close-up of a similar grid of glass squares, slightly blueish glass with a wavy lower surface, in full sunlight., A similar floor by day at the
Liège-Guillemins railway station Liège-Guillemins railway station (french: Gare de Liège-Guillemins, nl, Station Luik-Guillemins, IATA code: XHN), officially Liège-Guillemins, is the main station in Liège, Belgium. It is one of the most important hubs in the country and i ...
in Belgium File:Michigan State Capitol Glass Bock Floor.jpg, alt=A cylindrical room with a glass floor surrounded by two higher stories of circular balconies with ornate bulbous balusters. The room is lit by incandescent lights., The floor of the rotunda of the
Michigan State Capitol The Michigan State Capitol is the building that houses the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the portion of the state capital of Lansing which lies in Ingham County. The present structure, at the inter ...
has a wrought-iron frame shaped to give the illusion of a bowl shape from above
from below
File:Linares - Museo Arqueológico 7.jpg, In a glass-covered courtyard in the Museo Arqueológico de Linares File:GFRP Translucent deck panels.jpg, alt=Bridge at night with multicoloured LED lights lighting the bridge from below; each successive panel is lit in a different colour., Translucent fiberglass deck of a bridge in Lleida, Spain, lit from below File:GLOBALGRID_translucent_decking01.jpg, alt=Pine decking with a panel of fiberglass showing a fine grid set in a mitered pine frame. The fiberglass is slightly blue-green, and sits squarely in front of the glass doors to the house., Translucent fiberglass pavement light built into a balcony, allowing sunlight into the area under the deck File:Luxfer sidewalk.gif, alt=A bright grid of glass with deep cross beams and shallow along-sidewalk beams., An area under a sidewalk, 1915, showing clear glass File:Multi-Prism_vault_lights_from_below.jpg, alt=View from below of small circular panes of translucent lavender glass, deeply set in a coffered grid. Each circle has three parallel pendant-prism ridges., Purple-solarized vault lights from ca. 1880, Etna, California File:Chamberlin Hotel-5.jpg, Purpled and patched vault lights outside the historic Chamberlin Hotel in
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...
. Grouting has been used to re-seal cracked glass jewels. File:Pavement in Worcester Street, Wolverhampton - geograph.org.uk - 1670792.jpg, A pavement light set into the pavement outside a store (
close-up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production, photography, still photography, and the comic strip medium is a type of shot (filmmaking), shot that tightly film frame, frames a person or object. Close-ups are one of the standard s ...
) File:BurlingtonHousePavementWindow.jpg, A pavement light outside
Burlington House Burlington House is a building on Piccadilly in Mayfair, London. It was originally a private Neo-Palladian mansion owned by the Earls of Burlington and was expanded in the mid-19th century after being purchased by the British government. To ...
in London, England File:Armored panels.jpg, Armoured vault lights installed in the sidewalk outside a store File:1886 diagram varied lenses.gif, Cross-section of a pavement light panel, showing alternating lenses and prisms File:Glass sidewalk pavement light, Geneva NY.jpg, alt=Square clear-glass pendant prisms., Pavement lights in
Geneva, New York Geneva is a city in Ontario and Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake; all land portions of the city are within Ontario County; the water portions are in Seneca County. The population was 13, ...
( flash version). Large pendant right-angle prisms as in previous image. File:GLOBALGRID translucent decking10.jpg, Translucent fiberglass pavement light panel, close-up File:Sidewalk, R. Estudos - University of Coimbra - Coimbra, Portugal - DSC09050.jpg, In
portuguese pavement Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
File:Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Glass floor Terrace 2016.jpg, On a terrace File:Book Shelves (8712833696).jpg, In a library, glass above and below (
close-up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production, photography, still photography, and the comic strip medium is a type of shot (filmmaking), shot that tightly film frame, frames a person or object. Close-ups are one of the standard s ...
)


See also

*
Anidolic lighting Anidolic lighting systems use anidolic optical components to light rooms. Light redirected by these systems does not converge to a focal point or form an image, hence the name (from ''an'', without, and ''eidolon'', image). Anidolic lighting use ...
*
Daylighting Daylighting is the practice of placing windows, skylights, other openings, and reflective surfaces so that sunlight (direct or indirect) can provide effective internal lighting. Particular attention is given to daylighting while designing a b ...
* Deck prism * Prism lighting * Thaddeus Hyatt – made the money he spent fighting slavery with ''Hyatt lights'', innovative small-paned lights in cast-iron frames *
Underground city An underground city is a series of linked subterranean spaces that may provide a defensive refuge; a place for living, working or shopping; a transit system; mausolea; wine or storage cellars; cisterns or drainage channels; or several of th ...
(vault lights are used to light some)


References

{{reflist , refs=f {{Citation , last = Gray , first = Christopher , title = Streetscapes/Subway Platforms; Letting the Sun Shine In , newspaper = New York Times , date = 19 May 2002 , url = https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/19/realestate/streetscapes-subway-platforms-letting-the-sun-shine-in.html , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140430064126/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/19/realestate/streetscapes-subway-platforms-letting-the-sun-shine-in.html , archive-date = 30 April 2014 , url-status = live {{Citation , last = Macky , first = Ian , title = Prism glass , website = Glassian , url = http://www.glassian.org/Prism/ , url-status = live , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20170929092533/https://www.glassian.org/Prism/ , archivedate = 29 September 2017 {{Citation , last = Macky , first = Ian , title = Prism glass, gallery f installations worldwide , website = Glassian , url = http://www.glassian.org/Prism/ , url-status = live , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090321164739/http://glassian.org/Prism/ , archivedate = 21 March 2009 {{cite web, url=https://glassian.org/Gallery/purple.html , title= Purple Insulator Gallery , publisher=glassian , accessdate=27 January 2018 {{cite web, url=http://glassian.org/Prism/Gallery/Chicago/index.html , title=Vault Lights in Chicago, Illinois , publisher=glassian , date=2 April 2003 , accessdate=3 December 2017 {{cite web, url=http://glassian.org/Prism/Gallery/Stockton/index.html , title=Vault Lights in Stockton, California , publisher=glassian , date= , accessdate=3 December 2017 {{cite web, url=http://glassian.org/Prism/Gallery/DevilsLake/index.html , title=Vault Lights at the NDSD in Devils Lake, North Dakota , publisher=glassian , date= , accessdate=3 December 2017 {{cite web, url=http://illumin.usc.edu/245/translucent-concrete-an-emerging-material/ , title=Translucent Concrete: An Emerging Material , work=Illumin , publisher=The Engineering Writing Program at the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering, volume=18 , issue=2, date=3 December 2017 , accessdate=3 December 2017 {{Citation , last = Macky , first = Ian , title = Vault Lights in Penn Station, NYC , website = Glassian , url = http://www.glassian.org/Prism/Gallery/NewYork/penn_station.html , url-status = live , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20160512165619/http://glassian.org/Prism/Gallery/NewYork/penn_station.html , archivedate = 12 May 2016 Object of the Moment: 3M Daylight Redirecting Film by 3M
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320034936/http://www.archlighting.com/products/daylighting-and-solar-control/object-of-the-moment-3m-daylight-redirecting-film-by-3m_s , date=20 March 2017 , by Selin Ashaboglu, 2 March 2017
{{Citation , author = Bullseye Glass Co. , title = Annealing Thick Slabs , url = https://www.bullseyeglass.com/methods-ideas/annealing-thick-slabs.html , url-status = live , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20171112021517/https://www.bullseyeglass.com/methods-ideas/annealing-thick-slabs.html , archivedate = 12 November 2017 {{Citation , last = Macky , first = Ian , title = Current Manufacturers , website = Glassian , url = http://glassian.org/Prism/current.html , url-status = live , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20171010104640/http://glassian.org/Prism/current.html , archivedate = 10 October 2017 {{Citation , editor=Henry Crew , editor2=Olin H. Basquin , title = Pocket Hand-book of Electro-glazed Luxfer Prisms containing useful information and tables relating to their use For Architects, Engineers and Builders. , year = 1898 , website = Glassian , url = http://glassian.org/Prism/Luxfer/Handbook/page1.html , url-status = live , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20160310000629/http://www.glassian.org/Prism/Luxfer/Handbook/page1.html , archivedate = 10 March 2016 {{Citation , author = Hargreaves Foundry , title = Replacement of Traditional Pavement Lights , date = 19 November 2014 , url = http://www.hargreavesfoundry.co.uk/blog/blogview/47/replacement-of-traditional-pavement-lights , url-status = live , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20171007120149/http://www.hargreavesfoundry.co.uk/blog/blogview/47/replacement-of-traditional-pavement-lights , archivedate = 7 October 2017 {{cite report , mode=cs1 , last=Padiyath , first=Raghunath , title=Daylight Redirecting Window Films , access-date=9 October 2017 , date=2013 , id=EW-201014 , url=https://www.serdp-estcp.org/Program-Areas/Energy-and-Water/Energy/Conservation-and-Efficiency/EW-201014 , website=serdp-estcp.org , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929092911/https://www.serdp-estcp.org/Program-Areas/Energy-and-Water/Energy/Conservation-and-Efficiency/EW-201014 , archive-date=29 September 2017
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914211930/http://glassian.org/Prism/Luxfer/CA/Catalogue/page25.html , date=14 September 2016
{{Citation , last = Robinson , first = Sam , title = Diffused Down Below: Philadelphia's Lost Vault Lights , work = Hiddencity Philadelphia , date = 19 June 2013 , url = http://hiddencityphila.org/2013/06/diffused-down-below-philadelphias-lost-vault-lights/ , url-status = live , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20171023063818/http://hiddencityphila.org/2013/06/diffused-down-below-philadelphias-lost-vault-lights/ , archivedate = 23 October 2017
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004085836/http://seattleglassonline.blogspot.ca/2010/05/abj-seattle-glass-online-on-temporary.html , date=4 October 2017 in Seattle, USA, and Victoria, Canada
{{Citation , title = Seattle Prism Light Reconnaissance Study , author = Marie Wong , publisher=Institute for Public Service, Seattle University , display-authors=etal , year = 2011 , url = http://allianceforpioneersquare.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Seattle-Prism-Light-Reconnaissance-Study.pdf , url-status = live , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20160327142938/http://allianceforpioneersquare.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Seattle-Prism-Light-Reconnaissance-Study.pdf , archivedate = 27 March 2016 {{Citation , last = Lord , first = Steve , title = Vault project shines light on underground Aurora , newspaper = The Chicago Tribune , date = 29 September 2017 , url = http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-aurora-vaults-st-0928-20170929-story.html , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171028094059/http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-aurora-vaults-st-0928-20170929-story.html , archive-date = 28 October 2017 , url-status = live {{Citation , last = Stratton , first = Edward , title = Let the light in , newspaper = The Daily Astorian , date = 7 December 2015 , url = http://www.dailyastorian.com/friday-extra/20151207/let-the-light-in , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171009042413/http://www.dailyastorian.com/friday-extra/20151207/let-the-light-in , archive-date = 9 October 2017 , url-status = live {{Citation , last = Garvin , first = Cosmo , title = The past below , newspaper = Sacramento Newsreview , date = 17 July 2003 , url = http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/past-below/content?oid=15424 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140208020116/http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/past-below/content?oid=15424 , archive-date = 8 February 2014 , url-status = live {{cite web, author=Chris Lehman , url=https://www.opb.org/news/article/historians-explore-salems-underground/ , title=Historians Explore Salem's Underground , publisher=OPB , date= , accessdate=3 December 2017 {{cite web, url=http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2010/10/historians_explore_tunnels_beneath_salem.html , title=Historians explore tunnels beneath Salem , publisher=OregonLive.com , date=20 October 2010 , accessdate=3 December 2017 {{cite web, url=http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/opinion/columnists/capi-lynn/2015/01/31/john-ritter-salem-history/22627533/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin= , title=From opium dens to bordellos, historian unearths Salem's past , publisher=Statesmanjournal.com , date=30 January 2015 , accessdate=3 December 2017 {{cite web, url=http://glassian.org/Prism/Gallery/SanDiego/index.html , title=Vault Lights in San Diego, California , author=Ian Macky , publisher=glassian , date= , accessdate=3 December 2017 {{cite web, url=http://glassian.org/Prism/Gallery/Tijuana/index.html , title=Vault Lights in Tijuana, Mexico , author=Ian Macky , publisher=glassian , date= , accessdate=3 December 2017
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914200808/http://glassian.org/Prism/Luxfer/Sweet06/page267.html , date=14 September 2016 , page 267

{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914223839/http://glassian.org/Prism/Luxfer/Sweet15/page174.html , date=14 September 2016 , page 174

{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401095800/http://glassian.org/Prism/3WayLux/Sweet27-28/A387.html , date=1 April 2016 , page A387

{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914214630/http://glassian.org/Prism/3Way/14S/page2.html , date=14 September 2016 , Catalog 14-S, American 3-Way Prism Company
{{cite web , last1=Brassington , first1=Kevan , title=Precast concrete pavement lights , url=https://www.thenbs.com/knowledge/precast-concrete-pavement-lights , website=NBS , publisher=RIBA Enterprises Ltd , accessdate=7 December 2019 , date= 1 June 2013 , language=en Pavement Lights
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007120157/http://www.luxcrete.co.uk/pavement-lights/ , date=7 October 2017 , Luxcrete Limited
Glazed Walk-on Floorlight Access
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009092419/https://surespancovers.com/product/pavevent/ , date=2017-10-09 , Surespan
{{Cite news, last = David Hutton, title = Group wants to save sidewalk prism lights, work = Saskatoon StarPhoenix, accessdate = 21 October 2017, date = 30 November 2011, url = https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/group-wants-to-save-sidewalk-prism-lights, url-status = live, archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20171022033652/http://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/group-wants-to-save-sidewalk-prism-lights, archivedate = 22 October 2017 {{cite web, title = Purple glass prisms inset in the sidewalk on 21st Street East in front of the Urban Oasis Tower are seen, Monday, April 13, 2015. Tunnels under the area are scheduled to be infilled., author = Greg Pender, The StarPhoenix, date = 13 April 2015, accessdate = 21 October 2017, url = https://vancouversun.com/Purple+glass+prisms+inset+sidewalk+21st+Street+East+front+Urban+Oasis+Tower+seen+Monday+April+2015+Tunnels+under+area+scheduled+infilled/10969281/story.html, url-status = live, archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20171022084837/http://www.vancouversun.com/Purple+glass+prisms+inset+sidewalk+21st+Street+East+front+Urban+Oasis+Tower+seen+Monday+April+2015+Tunnels+under+area+scheduled+infilled/10969281/story.html, archivedate = 22 October 2017 {{Cite news, author = Matthew Blackett, title = Vault lights are more than sidewalk decor, work = Spacing Magazine, accessdate = 22 October 2017, date = 5 January 2010, url = http://spacing.ca/magazine/section/infrastructure-fetish/vault-lights-are-more-than-sidewalk-decor/, url-status = live, archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20171023011631/http://spacing.ca/magazine/section/infrastructure-fetish/vault-lights-are-more-than-sidewalk-decor/, archivedate = 23 October 2017 {{Citation , last1 = Ringuette , first1 = Janis , last2 = Ringuette , first2 = Norm , title = Walking Over History: Victoria's Historic Sidewalk Prisms , year = 2007 , url = http://www.islandnet.com/~jar/streetscapes/topics/prisms.htm , url-status = live , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080509074924/http://www.islandnet.com/~jar/streetscapes/topics/prisms.htm , archivedate = 9 May 2008 {{Citation , last1 = Varone , first1 = Stephen , last2 =Varsalona , first2 =Peter , title =Replacing a Sidewalk Vault , publisher = original publisher: Habitat Magazine at habitatmag.com; now rehosted by Rand Engineering and Architecture, DPC , work = Habitat Magazine , series = Ask The Engineer , date = October 2004 , url = https://randpc.com/ask/structural/replacing-sidewalk-vault/ , access-date = {{Citation , last = Morrison , first = Andrew , title = The Purple Lights Of Our Ancient Basements , newspaper = Scout Vancouver , date = 19 October 2015 , url = http://scoutmagazine.ca/2015/10/19/1000-cool-things-about-vancouver-the-purple-illumination-of-ancient-basements/ , url-status = live , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20171004135444/http://scoutmagazine.ca/2015/10/19/1000-cool-things-about-vancouver-the-purple-illumination-of-ancient-basements/ , archivedate = 4 October 2017 {{Citation , title = Solarized glass , publisher = Corning Museum of Glass , date = 8 December 2011 , url = https://www.cmog.org/article/solarized-glass , url-status = live , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20171008130124/https://www.cmog.org/article/solarized-glass , archivedate = 8 October 2017 {{Citation , last = Knopp , first = Samantha , title = Purple City – A Little History of Vancouver's Vault Lights , publisher = Artists Walking Home Project , url = http://artistswalkinghome.ca/purple-city-a-little-history-of-vancouvers-vault-lights/ , url-status = live , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20171004085311/http://artistswalkinghome.ca/purple-city-a-little-history-of-vancouvers-vault-lights/ , archivedate = 4 October 2017 {{Citation , title = PRESERVATION Tech Notes: Repair and Rehabilitation of Historic Sidewalk Vault Lights, PTN 47 , publisher = National Park Service (U.S.A.) , date = November 2003 , issn = 0741-9023 , url = https://www.nps.gov/tps/how-to-preserve/tech-notes/Tech-Notes-Glass02.pdf , url-status = live , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20170506065254/https://www.nps.gov/tps/how-to-preserve/tech-notes/Tech-Notes-Glass02.pdf , archivedate = 6 May 2017 NOTE: colour versions of images available on Commons:Repair and Rehabilitation of Historic Sidewalk Vault Lights at 552-554 Broadway, New York City (2002) (URL formerly {{cite web , url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/tps/technotes/ptn47/intro.htm , title=Technical Preservation Services, National Park Service , accessdate=8 October 2017 , url-status=live , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425010929/http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/tps/technotes/ptn47/intro.htm , archivedate=25 April 2011 ) {{Citation, title =Manganese statistics, series =Kelly, T.D., and Matos, G.R., comps., Historical statistics for mineral and material commodities in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 140, publisher =U.S. Geological Survey, date =1 April 2014, url =https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/historical-statistics/ds140-manga.pdf, access-date =9 October 2017, url-status =live, archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20170224171827/https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/historical-statistics/ds140-manga.pdf, archivedate =24 February 2017 {{Citation , last = Murdy , first = Justine , title = The Dirt on Areaways , newspaper = Heritage Vancouver Newsletter , volume = 8 , number = 2 , date = February 1999 , url = http://www.heritagevancouver.org/pdf_newsletter/hvs-news-1999-full-screen.pdf , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160410193704/http://heritagevancouver.org/pdf_newsletter/hvs-news-1999-full-screen.pdf , archive-date = 10 April 2016 , url-status = live {{Citation , last = Hagemoen , first = Christine , title = Sidewalk prisms of Vancouver , publisher = Vanalogue , date = 13 April 2016 , url = https://vanalogue.wordpress.com/2016/04/14/sidewalk-prisms-of-vancouver/ , url-status = live , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20171004090119/https://vanalogue.wordpress.com/2016/04/14/sidewalk-prisms-of-vancouver/ , archivedate = 4 October 2017 {{cite patent , inventor-last = Rockwell , inventor-first = E. , inventorlink = , date = , issue-date = 8 March 1834 , title
Rockwell, Vault cover
, country-code = US , description = , patent-number = X8,058 , url = http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?patentnumber=X8,058 , df =
{{cite patent , inventor-last = Hyatt , inventor-first = Thaddeus , inventorlink = , date = , issue-date = 19 September 1854 , title
Hyatt, Vault cover
, country-code = US , description = , patent-number = 11,695 , url = http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?patentnumber=11,695 , df =
{{cite web, last1=Campbell-Dollaghan, first1=Kelsey, title=The Willis Tower's 103rd Floor Glass Skydeck Cracked Last Night, url=https://gizmodo.com/the-willis-towers-103rd-floor-glass-skydeck-cracked-las-1583211680, website=Gizmodo, publisher=Gizmodo.com, accessdate=4 June 2014, date=29 May 2014, url-status=live, archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140603073807/http://gizmodo.com/the-willis-towers-103rd-floor-glass-skydeck-cracked-las-1583211680, archivedate=3 June 2014


External links


Photos of replacing glass elementsMaking cast-iron-frame pavement lights (including replicas)
Solar architecture Energy-saving lighting Glass architecture Prisms (optics)