The Daylight Award directs focus at the interface between architecture and research - and places great emphasis on the interaction of theory and practice.
VILLUM FONDEN, VELUX FONDEN and the VELUX STIFTUNG, three philanthropic foundations established by Villum Kann Rasmussen, present the Daylight Award of €100,000 to each laureate.
Previous laureates:
- Jørn Utzon (DK) (1980)
- Henning Larsen (DK) (1987)
- Richard Perez (USA) (2008)
- James Carpenter (USA) (2010)
- Lacaton & Vassal (F) (2011)
- Marilyne Andersen (CH) (2016)
- Steven Holl (USA) (2016)
- Hiroshi Sambuichi (2018)
- Greg Ward (2018)
- Russell Foster (2020)
- Henry Plummer (2020)
- Juha Leiviskä (2020)
The Daylight Award is presented as two awards
The Daylight Award for Research is presented to an individual or a group of scientists for their outstanding contribution to international daylight research. The award has particular focus on interdisciplinarity and research in human well-being and opportunities for linking theory to practice.
The Daylight Award for Architecture is presented to an individual or a group of architects who have excelled at creating architecture or urban spaces that demonstrates a unique use of daylight with particular focus on architecture that takes into account quality of life and impact on human health and well-being, and the value for its immediate environments.
- Juhani Pallasmaa, Finnish architect, author, teacher and practicing architect. Member of the jury for the Pritzker Architecture Prize, 2009 - 2014.
- Dorte Mandrup, founder of Dorte Mandrup A/S, Copenhagen, chair of the Mies van der Rohe Award 2019, adjunct professor at the Royal Academy.
- Russell Foster, director of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology and head of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at the University of Oxford. In 2020, Russell Foster received the Daylight Award for Research.
- Iwan Baan, Dutch photographer who studied at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague and works with documentary photography in New York and Europe.
- Yvonne de Kort, Professor and Head of Environmental Psychology of Human-Technology Interaction at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Science at Eindhoven University of Technology.
- Michael Balick, Vice President of Botanical Science and Director of the Institute of Economic Botany, New York Botanical Garden.
- Gerd Folkers, Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at ETH Zurich. Previously employed at the Swiss National Science Foundation. Since 2012, director of Collegium Helveticum. Member of the Swiss Science Council and chair until 2019.
Previous laureates
The laureates 2022: Grafton Architects and Anna Wirz-Justice
The 2020 laureates:
Juha Leiviskä recieves The Daylight Award in architecture and Russell Foster recieves The Daylight Award in reserach while Henry Plummer recieves a special Lifetime Achievement Award.