Registration Deadline Extended until April 15

his year marks the 9th edition of the competition, which has been running every second year since 2004. With this competition, The VELUX Group challenges students to explore the role of daylight in architecture and inspire innovation through daylight as a source of light, energy, wellbeing and joy.

Register today for your chance to win €5,000

Money prize and presentation at the World Architecture Festival
Once registration closes, student teams will be asked to submit their project by the 15th of June in one of two categories – ‘Daylight in buildings’ or ‘Daylight investigations’.

In July, a jury of the renowned architects: Odile Decq (FR), Sebastian Adamo (AR), Nora Demeter (HU) and Juri Troy (AT) will select 10 winners – two winners from each of the five world regions defined by The International Union of Architect´s member sections: 1) Western Europe 2) Eastern Europe and the Middle East 3) The Americas 4) Asia and Oceania, and 5) Africa. The 10 regional winners will be invited to present their projects in person to the jury at the World Architecture Festival 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Depending on the results of the international jury, a Grand Prize of €5,000 per category will be awarded (€4,000 to the student and €1,000 to the teacher) to the most outstanding projects. A prize of €1,250 per category will be awarded to the best projects from each region (€1,000 to the student and €250 to the teacher). The jury will be allowed to award a number of special prizes, including prizes for innovative use of VELUX products.

An opportunity to present the project to the distinguished jury
Over the years, the jury has included a number of internationally acclaimed architects like Glenn Murcutt, Alvaro Siza, Kengo Kuma, Hani Rachid, Carme Pigem, Craig Dykers, and Li Hu. When the jury for the 2020 International VELUX award was announced in November 2019, registrations increased. This proves how important it is for students to have the opportunity for their work to be evaluated by such a prestigious jury.

Jury members from left to right: Odile Decq, Sebastián Adamo, Nóra Demeter, Juri Troy and Martin Pors Jepsen.

Odile Decq is a French architect and urban planner, awarded the Architizer’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 for her pioneering work, but also her engagement and contribution to the debate on architecture.

Sebastián Adamo from Argentina is the co-founder of the architecture firm Adamo-Faiden based in Buenos Aires since 2005. Their international practice extends to teaching and research and their works are widely exhibited in the Americas and Europe.

Nóra Demeter is an architect based in Hungary. Together with Zoboki-Demeter and Associates, her vast international expertise has enabled her to tackle complex local and international projects, like the Palace of the Arts in Budapest.

Juri Troy is an Austrian architect whose projects concentrate on sustainability, energy efficiency and holistic building concepts. Therefore, the use of wood always plays an important role in his work.

Martin Pors Jepsen from Denmark is the Vice President of Global Product Management at VELUX. He has held several positions in the VELUX Group including as General Manager for VELUX China and Global Product Manager for VELUX Solar.

Read the jury members’ full bios here.

Key dates for students

• 15.04.2020 – Registration deadline
• 15.06.2020 – Submission deadline
• July 2020 – Regional winners announced
• 4.12.2020 – Global winners selected and announced at the World Architecture Festival

Architectural and educational institutions supporting the award
The Award is organised in close collaboration with the International Union of Architects (UIA) and the World Architecture Festival (WAF) and is acknowledged by the following educational organisations; The European Association for Architectural Education (EAAE), The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), the Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC), and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA).

Learn more about the award in the Award Brief and follow us on Facebook and Instagram