Bernhard Christoph Faust was an educated doctor, early smallpox vaccine promoter, who was inspired by Enlightenment ideas and coined a term “Sonnenbaulehre” - Solar construction theory. He was one of the first persistent advocates of new architecture and urban planning, which would seriously take into account orientation of the building. He wrote a book “Zur Sonne nach Mittag sollten alle Häuser der Menschen gerichtet seyn” in 1839, where he also described an ideal solar city - Sonnenstadt. His ideas had real impact, from designs and building regulations drafted by his fellow architect Gustav Vorherr, to implementation of his ideas in urban structure of La Chaux de Fonds, which he did not have a chance to witness.
Things get much spicier knowing that he was a member of Illuminati order. There is not much more detail found on his roles or activities there, but the very fact opens intriguing perspective. A tiny order of Illuminati is still often associated with superstition and conspiracy theories, which they were actually attempting to oppose. Adoration of light in both symbolic and straightforward sense must have formed quite an obsession. At the same time, the very idea of secret societies seems to be weirdly contradictory, where love of science and truth becomes intertwined with a lust for mysticism.
