Jury report – commented by the jury – 15 August 2014
Jury report, Copenhagen (16-17 June 2014)
By the submission deadline of 2 May 2014, 802 entries were uploaded to the International VELUX Award server via personal FTP accounts. Four entries had an empty folder and one project was uploaded twice. All remaining 797 projects complied with the mandatory file formats and specifications and were available in digital format for the jury’s evaluation.
The jury was composed of Craig Dykers (Norway/USA), Róisín Heneghan (Ireland), Magda Mostafa (Egypt), Catherine Slessor (United Kingdom) and Per Arnold Andersen from VELUX A/S (Denmark).
The jury met in Copenhagen on 16 and 17 June 2014. Craig Dykers was elected chairman and presided over the jury’s work. 89 projects were short-listed and reviewed in the first round; out of which 45 projects were selected for second review. 24 projects reached the third round – out of which 11 finalists were selected. Before the final review, all projects were revisited once more and 8 projects were reintroduced in the concluding discussion that comprised 19 projects in total.
The jury unanimously selected a first prize winner, one second prize winner, one third prize winner, two special mentions and seven honourable mentions as listed below:
First prize, 8,000 € for the student(s)/2,000 € for the teacher(s):
Project no. 56, “Light, Revitalization”
Second prize, 4,000 € for the student(s)/1,000 € for the teacher(s):
Project no. 674, “Morning Glory Cloud”
Third prize, 2,600 € for the student(s)/600 € for the teacher(s):
Project no. 65, “Light of Hope”
The following two projects were awarded the jury’s special mention with 1,400 € for the student(s) and 350€ for the teacher(s):
Project no. 47, “The Dancing of Light”
Project no. 627, “Dyeing the Sunshine”
The following projects were awarded honourable mentions with 1,000 € for the student(s) and 200 € for the teacher(s):
Project no. 43, “Light-Memory of the Wounds”
Project no. 68, “Stretching Sunlight”
Project no. 115, “Northern Lights”
Project no. 212, “Socialight”
Project no. 223, “The Body Architectonic”
Project no. 556, “Diving Lights”
Project no. 557, “Sfumato of Light”
The total prize sum was 30,000 €.
General remarks
The jury was overwhelmed by the number of entries and impressed by the fascinating diversity and wide understanding of light across the globe. The quality of the entries was high and the students did a great job; their projects expressed clear concepts and ingenuity. The projects explored light with innovative and unique methods, inspiring new thought and perspectives on the subject.
Although many projects were inspired by previous awards, many projects also explored new areas and wider contexts by addressing issues of heritage of public space as well as issues of social and political unrest. They challenged issues of sustainability, social diversification, political issues, natural disasters and wars that affect us all, no matter where we live. The jury applauded entries that went beyond the parameters of design and chose to positively contribute to society.
The variety of topics reflected our widening interest in technological developments, new materials and solar energy. Several projects looked at the physical properties of light; particularly going back to the basics of optics and materials – playing with the redirection of light and view. Others addressed methods to capture, store and redirect daylight into a building or into urban cityscapes. Some entries considered the spiritual phenomena of daylight and its effect on state of mind, health and well-being. Others again looked at the dynamic and temporal quality of daylight and its effects on behaviour and spaces over time and seasons. Another remarkable trend in quite a few projects was the ability of light to mark and trace smog and air pollution. Many entries used light as a catalyst to revitalise and repurpose abandoned structures.
The focus on daylight was introduced into the curriculum in several schools and many projects dealt with similar programmes, themes and locations. It is encouraging to see the active involvement and interaction of schools and teachers across continents; there seems to be no boundaries to student projects today.
The jury found a 50/50 split between strong and fully developed ideas and others that were only partially conceived. This is, however, healthy and natural, since many students are young, and this might be their first experience of testing, learning and communicating with a certain allowed naivety and innocence. It takes a lifetime to understand how light affects us so for these projects, it is more about experimenting with light. The jury found valuable insight in all of the submissions and looked over each entry twice. Some projects that were not among the finalists were even brought back to discuss aspects that were more impressive than the winning entries.
Some projects showed maturity, great sophistication and excellence. They were very thoughtful and poetic with wonderful presentations. While the imagery and aesthetics were impressive, the jury would have liked to see the technical aspects explained more clearly in those submissions that dealt with specific applications; with more explorations, physical models and more details on how the solutions actually worked. On the other hand, the jury would have appreciated more aesthetic considerations in the presentations of those projects elaborating on documented details, efforts and thinking.
The winning projects stood out and were so complex that the jury had to debate their relevance and evaluate them several times. They dealt not only with aesthetic qualities of light – but tied the functionality of light with purposes beyond what light ordinarily provides in terms of views or comfort. They pooled the political aspects, challenging situations and social discussions into their work with light. The projects were very well researched, documented and beautifully rendered. Each one of them had a delicate beauty that was rare and subtle.
First prize, project no. 56, “Light, Revitalisation”
The network of hutongs in Beijing used to stretch into the neighborhoods close to the Forbidden City. The original neighborhoods are now transforming into more homogeneous areas and contact to nature is being lost. The project’s idea is to reconnect to nature and the 24 solar terms that used to be agricultural guidelines in ancient times when people could define time and season by the position of the sun. By constructing an overhang with a varied system of grilles, the solar terms will be introduced again. During the different moments of a day, the slight variations of position and incident angle of the grilles will create light stripes that will gradually transform into an oval at midday. The shape of the oval will change with days passing. As an example, during the “Grain Rain” – the 6th solar term on 19 April, only at noon – a perfect circle will occur on the wall and will relate a modern equivalent of a moon gate, connecting light to history. 24 stages in the hutongs are selected to recall the relationship between light and time, becoming the gathering point of daily life and light.
The first prize winner did everything the jury was looking for; the graphic communication was beautiful, the students really understood how light moves through seasons and times of day, considering how light can be captured and manipulated and even frozen at certain points and places.
The students used the idea of space, time and light and connected them in a way that we have forgotten, reconnecting the passage of time and how light can be used as a cultural signifier – and a cultural hub during the day.
It is a very mature project and the students have managed to create something entirely plausible and feasible, tying together old Chinese traditions and new ways of looking at these traditions. The scheme demonstrates a deep understanding of the role of daylight on a city scale, on a social scale and on a cultural scale.
Second prize, project no. 674, “Morning Glory Cloud”
The project reflects on how daylight can contribute to the unification of Korea. The Korean demilitarized zone is the strip of land running across the peninsula serving as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The existing demarcation line with barbed wire-entanglement is not accessible – so consequently, the borderline is more a psychological than an actual physical barrier. The design concept of an architectural borderline is inspired by “the Morning Glory Cloud”, which is a rare meteorological phenomenon occasionally observed in the morning for a few moments. When heated by the sun, warm modules of balloons will rise into the sky and create shadow at sunrise; after sunset, they are brought down and start to illuminate the surroundings – charged by the sun during the day. Light and shadow created in the process serve as a new barrier that stimulates us to think about the meaning of borders and the hope that they will disappear.
With this story, the students want to tell us a metaphoric story – a story about awareness through light, connecting light to air in an ephemeral way as well as how to tie fantasy with the real world – and it is even told with a bit of humour.
The project is incredibly exemplary and poetic as well, as it is impressively presented. It is fantastic in the best sense, animating a demilitarised zone as an artificial cloud. It is an extraordinary knockabout that the jury did not see in other projects, making us all seriously realise that this is a border in a very contentious part of the world.
The project articulates the political and physical boundary in a way that is playful, but also with a serious undercurrent. It uses technology in an interesting way, and wants to make a wider, political point.
Third prize, project no. 65, “Light of Hope”
At least 35 million people in the world are either temporarily or permanently exiled from their homes and there are now more refugees or internally displaced people than at any time since 1994. With the crisis in Syria, there are 600,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan, and Zaatari is now the second largest refugee camp in the world, with a population of around 160,000. The camp is overcrowded and poses threats to health, sanitation, and security of all who live there. Streetlights are usually not one of the priorities even though lighting could make it safer, particularly for women and children living in the camp to leave their tents during night. The idea of the project is to bring safety and beauty into the lives of the unfortunate refugees through the use of natural light by making spatial lightweight nets treated with photo-luminising powder charged on sunlight, which allow them to glow during night. During daytime, the net will provide shelter from the strong sunlight.
The project deals with a serious topic that we should all be concerned with in today’s world. A practical, rather simple solution can improve the quality of daily life as well as provide security.
The students have thought of the conditions in refugee camps and how to address the challenges, which is not a very easy task. They applied a technology that is plausible even though the jury discussed if it would be considered cheap or without environmental concerns.
The project is awarded for its strong idea and the extraordinary and poetic presentation that can only affect us all.
Two projects were identified by the jury for their special qualities:
The jury’s special prize, project no. 47, “The Dancing of Light”
The project works with a meditative space with a spatial ambience created by light reflected in semi-transparent cocoon-shaped structures. Each cocoon has its own direction – reflecting the light underneath. Light and shadow changes over time as if the space is breathing slowly due to the action of light. Traditional Chinese rice paper is used as the light reflective material in the cocoon-shaped structure. The characteristic of this paper is its distinctive texture and translucency.
The project is very sophisticated in its presentation and the students have worked successfully with scale models. It is a purely meditative project that works with the phenomenal experience of light and shadow. The jury could have wished that the project had shown more engagement in the world but it definitely created a good and important discussion for the jury.
The jury’s special prize, project no. 627, “Dyeing the Sunshine”
The Fez in Morocco is inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 1981 for its thousand years' of culture and its specific leather industry. The dye factory is not accessible to the public and the idea of the project is to replace the bottom of each vat with a transparent surface so that sunshine can penetrate into a new underground space, where visitors will experience the colourful columns of light. At night, the lights penetrate the vats from beneath and the leather factory will be illuminated in all colours.
The project is honoured for its re-use of existing structures as well as for the conceptual and colourful idea. It is nicely articulated and an unusual example of how to use well-known historical places and to create new public space in a creative way. The jury would have appreciated a few more considerations around the actual making, but as a student project, it has amazing qualities.
Seven projects were identified by the jury as representatives of the wide variation and series of projects. They are all projects that really did well in the way they addressed and presented their individual ideas:
Project no. 43, “Light-Memory of the Wounds”