Daylight and Architecture is a global knowledge-sharing initiative that promotes daylight in architecture. The focus of the initiative is on the exploration of the limitless potential of daylight and the many ways that natural light inspires architects to create and innovate.
Established as a resource for both students and professionals, Daylight and Architecture celebrates the importance of daylight by creating insightful articles and interviews related to daylight and design. It builds upon the legacy of the VELUX Group’s commitment of more than 80 years to develop a vast body of research-based expertise and practical knowledge related to the importance of using natural light in designing buildings.
Tina Christensen is a senior Architect and special advisor of Daylight and Architecture within the department Buildings of the Future. She explains the importance of this initiative and its role in both VELUX and the world of architecture:
“The aim of Daylight and Architecture is to create a community of people interested in the subject. It’s both for architects as well as young students and their schools to use as a resource. We believe daylight and natural ventilation is essential in architecture and design”, she explains.
“In collaboration with our growing network of partners – architectural and educational organisations and universities around the world – our mission is to curate the best and brightest ideas related to daylight and share these ideas with the architectural community with the aim of ensuring that future architects consider daylight as an integral component of building design. We want to connect people and invite them to explore daylight - in everything we do, our goal is to share knowledge, encourage dialogue and collaboration as well as to inspire innovation around the topic of daylight and natural ventilation with the global architectural community”, says Tina.
Daylight and Architecture celebrates the importance of daylighting in a variety of ways, two of the most important ones being International VELUX Award and Daylight Talks.
International VELUX Award
International VELUX award has been running since 2004. It is the biggest competition for students of architecture – over 6000 thousand students from more than 500 schools in 130 different countries have participated so far.
“The aim of the award is to engage with students of architecture about how to use daylight as main sources of energy and light and how to ensure health and well-being of the people in our world. It seeks to challenge the students to explore the role of daylight in architecture and inspire new thinking through the theme ‘Light of Tomorrow’”, says Tina.
The ten regional winners selected in this year’s competition emphasize VELUX’s position in supporting young talent and encouraging experimentation and innovation in regards to the future of daylight. The global winners of the competition will be announced on 02 December 2022.
Daylight Talks
Daylight Talks is a series of free live streamed lectures that shares daylight knowledge and showcases exemplary daylighting projects with the architecture and design community. The focus of the talks is the exploration the limitless potential of daylight. These insightful talks explore the significance of using natural light in architecture and feature designers actively working with daylighting in their projects.
“The goal for this lecture series is to challenge and inspire all architects to consider the role of daylighting in new and innovative ways”, explains Tina. Though the focus of these talks is always on the use of natural light in design, each speaker brings a unique perspective to the topic, depending on their vision and the experience of working with daylight.
Both Daylight Talks and the International VELUX Award are endorsed by the International Union of Architects (UIA) and the European Association for Architectural Education (EAAE).
“We are motivated by a desire to encourage the architects of tomorrow to recognize how important daylight is as a keystone of good architecture. If we can help shape the architects of tomorrow, then at a certain point they will meet with our products”, explains Tina.
Best use of natural light in buildings
Since 2019, VELUX has supported the Best Use of Natural Light prize as part of the World Architecture Festival for the best use of natural light in completed buildings that showcase unique use of a daylighting. Special emphasis is put on projects that consider the impact on human well-being, performance and joy. The prize allows VELUX to recognize the state of the art and celebrate those already working consciously with daylight in their architectural projects.
“Both architects and architecture students are increasingly recognizing the importance of daylight and fresh air, especially after the pandemic. We want to communicate this further, and invite people to explore limitless potential of daylight”, says Tina.
Reflecting on the importance of daylight in our daily lives she adds: “Daylight is a vital component for our mental and physical health. It is free and it is for all of us to use, so make sure you get some daylight!”
If you’d like to know more about D&A make sure to visit their website and Instagram @daylightandarchitecture and @internationalveluxaward!