MOVING THE IMMOVABLE: an analysis of architectural projection and the fostered interrelationships between light, architecture and the spectator

This thesis explores projection and projection mapping as mediums through which relationships between light, architecture, and spectatorship are activated and redefined. While projection mapping has rapidly proliferated over the last two decades, becoming central to festivals, commemorations, and public spectacles, it is frequently treated as a novelty of digital culture. This research demonstrates that the practice has a far deeper lineage, emerging from centuries of experimentation with projected light, from magic lantern shows and son et lumière to cinema, installation art, and protest projection. Situating projection mapping within this ancestry establishes the historical and theoretical context for its contemporary situation.

Through a detailed literature review and critical practice analysis, three interrelated characteristics are identified as fundamental to understanding projection mapping: site, light, and audience. By exploring the contribution of each of these, a proposal is offered for analysing the way projection mapping operates - whether as an architectural augmentation, a narrative device, or a collective spectacle. A review of seminal projects shows how practitioners variably emphasise these components, but also reveals a lack of coherent methodological reflection within theory and practice.

Addressing this gap, this thesis adopts a practice-based research methodology, developing a series of experimental pilot studies and a major case study project. Each project tests a different methodological approach to projection mapping, examining how projected light can transform architectural space, and how audiences interpret and engage with these transformations. Through critical reflection on these investigations, this thesis proposes a structured framework for categorising projection mapping methodologies, offering tools for both academic analyses and artistic practice.