International VELUX Award 2014 has its winners

"The winning project is connected with the cultural conditions related to solar cycles, as reflected in the cultural heritage of the region. There are several interpretations, but the project primarily outlines the possibility of healing the urban environment through light,” assessed the work of Chinese students by the chairman of the international jury, Craig Dykers.

Natural light in modern urban life
In preparing the project, four Chinese students from Tsinghua University chose the city of Beijing as a starting point, serving as a testing ground for new architecture. They decided to seek valuable elements from the past that should be preserved and re-integrated into modern life.

“Light for the future means an emphasis on the more spiritual beauty of life for us. We discussed not only better use of light in the future, but essentially sought a new definition of light. In our project, light serves as a podium that guides us to re-think the deeper values of everyday life,” summarizes the idea of the project 22-year-old student Du Dikang, captain of the winning team.

Light for global responsibility
Second place in the competition was awarded to two students from Hanyang University and Hongik University in Seoul for their project Morning Glory Cloud. They were inspired by the consideration of the possibility of the disappearance of the Korean border. The jury appreciated the combination of sci-fi aspects with the real world in a very mature approach that depicted the demilitarized zone as an artificial cloud.

Second place for the project Morning Glory Cloud by students from Hanyang University and Hongik University in Seoul, Korea

The third winning project Light of Hope focuses on bringing glimmers of hope and light in general to millions of people living in refugee camps around the world. The jury regarded this project as cost-effective, practically feasible, and appreciated its human contribution. The strong idea of hope in the project was expressed by four students from the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering, and Geodesy in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Third place went to the project Light of Hope by students from the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The jury valued diversity and creativity
The expert jury also gave two personal recognitions to projects from China and several honorable mentions to students from Canada, Italy, Denmark, Bulgaria, and China. All of the top prize winners and honorable mention recipients were decided unanimously by the jury. The winning team of Chinese students took home a reward of 8,000 EUR, and their teachers received a sum of 2,000 EUR. The authors of the second-place project received a prize of 4,000 EUR, and 1,000 EUR was allocated for their teachers. The Bulgarian students took home 2,600 EUR for third place and 600 EUR for their teachers. Along with the rewards for individual honorable mentions, a total of 30,000 EUR was distributed in the competition.

Authors of the winning project: Du Dikang, Li Le, Zhou Yujing, and Ma Yao from Tsinghua University in China

All awarded students with the members of the expert jury of this year's competition

The ceremonial announcement of this year's edition was also attended by deans of Czech and Slovak universities: prof. Ing. arch. Ladislav Lábus, Hon. FAIA, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture CTU in Prague; prof. Ing. Rostislav Drochytka, CSc., MBA, Dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at VUT in Brno; doc. Ing. arch. Ľubica Vitková, PhD., Dean of the Faculty of Architecture STU in Bratislava.

Natural light in the leading role
The jury in this year's competition also highlighted the fact that many projects nominated for the IVA 2014 exceed the parameters of design and additionally serve as a contribution to social responsibility and for society.
“Many projects focus on how light can influence the political situation. They connect the function of light with purposes that go beyond what light typically provides. Not just views and comfort but also solutions to challenging situations, social discussions, and the involvement of political aspects in working with light,” says jury chair Craig Dykers.

“With this award, we wish to inspire students to work with daylight as something that is more than just a design sketch. We are pleased to see that this year's winning projects and recognitions are significantly engaged in more serious issues that the world is facing and show sincere social responsibility,” adds Per Arnold Andersen, representative of the VELUX group in the jury.

Composition of the expert international jury and evaluation

Expert jury of the international competition for architecture students International VELUX Award 2014

•    Craig Dykers (Norway, USA) – jury chair, founding partner of Snøhetta studio
•    Róisín Heneghan (Ireland) – founding partner of Heneghan Peng Architects
•    Magda Mostafa PhD. (Egypt) – associate professor of architecture at the American University in Cairo
•    Catherine Slessor (United Kingdom) – editor of Architectural Review
•    Per Arnold Andersen (Denmark) – representative of the VELUX group




The jury evaluated the projects based on the following criteria: how the project addresses the future, the level of experimentation and innovation, adherence to technological principles, the level of poetry in connecting human needs and architecture, the use of daylight as a promise for the future, and the overall graphic presentation of the project.

More information about the competition can be found on the website: http://iva.velux.com/.

About the International VELUX Award
The International VELUX Award for architecture students has been held in two-year cycles since 2004. In the ten years of its existence, approximately 5,000 students from over 80 countries have participated in the competition. The main theme is Light for Tomorrow. The aim of the competition is to support architecture students in exploring the topic of sunlight and natural light in the broadest sense. The competition is not limited to the use of VELUX products.

About the VELUX Group
The mission of the VELUX Group is to create a better quality of life by developing and continually improving products that bring more daylight and fresh air into attics, provide views to the surroundings while being in harmony with modern trends in architecture. The product range of VELUX includes a wide selection of roof windows, skylights, and solutions for flat roofs. VELUX also offers a full range of shading and decorative accessories – from blinds, shutters to outdoor awnings and screens.
A complete system of installation and control elements with options for manual or remote control via electric or solar drive is also available. The VELUX company owns manufacturing plants in 11 countries around the world and commercial companies in almost 40 countries. As such, it is one of the world's strongest brands in the building materials industry. Its products are sold in most countries worldwide. The VELUX Group employs approximately 10,000 employees. The company's headquarters is located in Hørsholm, Denmark.

More information about the company can be found on the website: http://www.velux.com/ or http://www.velux.cz/.