ABSTRACT
The light from the incandescent light bulbs has been normalized during the twentieth century in Denmark to the point where other light qualities are seen as ‘alternative’. This chapter explores the social logic of bright light, and the continuous process of appropriating spaces through light to make a home. Lighting is an atmospheric competence and practice that is learned and changes according to biographical, social or political context. Confronted with the Otherness of brightly lit homes forces researchers and people in general to rethink the taken-for-granted nature of ‘good lighting’ being either glare free, resembling the sun, or universal. Urbanplanen is a common housing association a few kilometres south east of Islands Brygge. Lighting is thus a competence that can be learned, no matter if the goal is relaxation, activity, a sense of cleanliness, or visually materialising prestige and protection.
