Lighthouses - The Purpose & Development

The Purpose & Light

The core purpose of a lighthouse is to act as a "Navigational aid" to ships and boats when sailing near the coast. It informs them of the distance they have from the coast and helps light areas at night which maybe hazardous such as rockfall. The key structure to a house is the large curved structure and a large light at the top of the tower. Originally this light was a steady illumination of a Argand lamp (a model of the lamp is shown to the right) and the use of optical lenses to give the curved spotlight effect and increase the radius of the light therefore creating a light that could be visible at a longer distance.

The Design & Structure

The general structure of a lighthouse is a curved structure. The radius starts large and then slowly becomes smaller. This curve is a advantage to help keep the lighthouse in well condition. One being this it is more structurally sound as it is working with gravity and is less likely to fall as it has a large platform to stand on. The over advantage is that waves of the sea are more able to move around the tower therefore prevents a lot of force being placed on the building and could prevent erosion.

Overall this helps sustain a good design to the tower as it is more sustainable and could last longer than a straight tower.

Some lighthouse also use colours like red and white to help clearly spot the tower and suggests warning, this is also effective as it is preventing the lighthouse from becoming a hazard itself.

Developing into my Lighthouse.

Overall I feel this research has enabled me to develop a greater understanding of the structure and design behind lighthouses. I will show this development by adding certain elements to my concept art and 3D model. An example of this would be a curve to the building and multiple uses of the optical lens shape, thus making my light practical for it job. From this I then able to add my theme to the structure, for example the use of the colour palette and roofing. Therefore making my lighthouse practical and ascetically correct for the oriental culture.