By the post deadline on 18 June 2008, 686 entries were received. All 686 projects were accepted and evaluated by the jury.
The jury was composed of Hani Rashid (USA), Enrique Browne (Chile), Huat Lim (Malaysia), Eva Jiricna, appointed by UIA (United Kingdom), Francis Nordemann appointed by EAAE (France) and Michel Langrand, General Manager, VELUX France
(France).
The jury met in Turin from 25 to 26 June 2008. Hani Rashid was elected chairman and presided over the jury’s work. 74 projects were short listed and reviewed in the first round - out of which 37 projects were selected for the second round. 18 projects reached the final discussion. The jury agreed on 11 prize winners and awarded the following prizes:
1st prize, 8,000 € for the student(s)/2,000 € for the teacher(s) - Project no. VK346/OH1883
2nd prize, 4,000 € for the student(s)/1,000 € for the teacher(s)- Project no. VK275/RX1004
3rd prize, 2,400 € for the student(s)/600€ for the teacher(s) - Project no. VK 140/DM5393
The following projects were awarded equally with honourable mention and 1200 € for the student(s)/300 € for the teacher(s):
Project no. BO13/ML1604
Project no. VK058/DG1012
Project no. BO56/OA4601
Project no. VK226/CL0005
Project no. VK584/SN0001
Project no. VK331/AR1499
Project no. VK577/LI0001
Project no. VK452/CV4479
The total prize sum was 30,000 €
General remarks
The total amount of 686 projects represents an incredible variation of responses to the theme “Light of Tomorrow”. With entries from all over the world, the award literally represents the zeitgeist of architectural education and evidently it also proves the global penetration and interaction between students and schools from any continent. Daylight in architecture is an ever relevant topic; all architects have always been interested in - and fascinated by - light and yet is daylighting one of the most difficult aspects to approach and to fully understand. The submitted projects prove that there are unlimited ways to approach and understand the effects of daylight by raising relevant questions and by proving curiosity.
What the jury was looking for was not necessarily complete or buildable projects, but merely projects that celebrated the privilege of being a student – with the naivety intact – with curiosity - with the willingness to take a risk – and with a mindset for experimental thinking “out of the box”. The jury also looked for projects that focused on design problems and daylighting solutions rather than a ready-to-build building. A strong focus was directed on projects that addressed the future rather than the past.
The jury found that the general level of the projects was very high, even though they did not meet veritable miracles. They saw a number of incomplete projects based on obvious imitations or vague ideas as well as projects based on a very banal approach; windows make light, without further considerations or experimentation. Many projects, however, hit some new and undeveloped aspects of daylight that were elaborated and investigated further by the students to accomplished works with a sense of viability and reality.
The projects represent a wide spectrum of scale; from the urban context to small scale element design. What is promising for the future is that there was strong focus on the environmental issues as well as the somewhat forgotten knowledge that daylight can heal and bring comfort; even in city perspective. Other ideas are about how to store daylight, how to condense it and keep it for later.
The first selection and evaluation was based on the quality of the presentation, the touch of an intriguing approach as well as the level of experimentation and not least how the project addressed the future.
In the final selection the following five aspects were considered; 1) the level of innovation, 2) how technology was approached, 3) the level of poetry, human conditions and architecture that we want to believe in, 4) the use of light; light as premise for architecture/how well understood? and 5) the overall presentation; graphically, how the project presents itself.
The three winners - in three different scales of urbanism or urban conditions – challenge the theme of light of tomorrow with great responsibility for the environment. The projects represent three different approaches; a practical, a visionary and a poetic approach. Specifically the 1st and 2nd prizes are taking the bull by the horns by producing ambitious works that bring new attitudes to light in spaces that we pass through every day - and where we have a chance of new experiences.
1st prize, project no. VK346/OH1883
Embodied Ephemerality*: Light-Form Architecture
(*Lasting for a short period of time.)
The project discusses how to challenge the daily city routines by getting off the subway at a new (wrong) station: “The moment you miss your usual stop and are forced to drift from your routine, you perceive the city with new eyes. The intent of the project is to invert this phenomenon, so one has the joy of experiencing a place of daily passage that unexpectedly transforms itself through time”.
A specific location - the PATH Station in Lower Manhattan – is chosen to explore this idea through the careful projection of sunlight into the underground space of the commuter during the peak hours of 8am to 9am and from 5pm to 6pm. The station intends to elevate the everyday experience of its users. This is addressed by the station’s ephemerality; the station changes with the weather, the daily path of the sun, and the seasons.
The jury found that the project gave a clear and viable architectural answer to the award brief; promoting the idea of bringing daylight and sunlight into peoples' daily routines in the subway, where daylight experiences usually are non-existent.
The conceptual idea of discussing underground spaces with daylight is very articulated and the project is accomplished and very efficient in scale. The author demonstrates the talent to understand and work with light in big spaces. The building itself functions as a luminaire and it is working with the light that inspires us all – hitting the marks - with clear references to e.g. Piranesian light and the Pantheon.
The project covers all aspects of great imagination and a serious and professional presentation of the drawings and contrary to many other projects there is a clear correlation between images and text.
2nd prize, project no. VK275/RX1004
Interfase Repairing Light Festival
The project takes New York City as a case study by suggesting a one day sunlight festival.
“As the urbanization of every city goes, a sphere surface of the earth that receives sunlight is broken into a much bigger surface with over half of the areas being the façade of the buildings.” The city formation has great impact on the available sunlight in a city by leaving major parts of facades and streets in the shade.
The project suggests mirror installations on selected day lit facades with variable redirection of light to the shaded cityscape. With the project the authors want to raise the awareness of the importance of sunlight - both in design and in daily life, to architects and people in the cities.
The jury finds that it is a very intriguing and strong project that really hits the target by celebrating daylight; the future of light is also the future of the city. It is a project full of poetry and the approach pushes the traditional metropolis - as anti advertising – and with a focus on democratic light, where the city shares lightness and darkness. The authors understand city space and they consider globalisation and think in terms of revisiting urbanism through conceptual thinking.
The jury appreciates the strong approach and also that the authors are taking a risk with a project on this scale and by asking the questions; can the well known “delirium” city centre be transformed to a healing city? And can light positively affect the mood of the citizens?
The project presentation is very powerful. It is an extension from Christo’s work - taking architecture into new territories by revealing Mondrian-inspired light potentials.
3rd prize, project no. VK 140/DM5393
Light has a Body
“The Project presupposes an understanding of emptiness within a vacuum”. The project - a programme of cultural lifestyle; a concert hall or an exhibition area - is located underground below a city square. The only relationship with the outside world is large masses of water in transparent glass containers that emit light to the interior.
The jury was intrigued by the fragile, straightforward and playful idea - probably inspired by looking at the play of light in a wine glass; here transformed into a larger scale of a museum. On this scale the vessels – used as condensers of light – will have a powerful influence on the space due to liquid movement and colour variation, and the sunlight is transmitted to the floor by the glass columns.
The project is a celebration of light and it has its merits in vision and in sublime poetry by marking light phenomena and mystery. The impression is, however, that the author does not truly believe in his own genius and cannot live up to his own imagination. The project drawings – plans and sections are unelaborated compared with the appealing model photos. What stands out in the project is the scale; with an intervention that really “fires off”.
Daylight it seems, once trapped or captured into a jar of water immediately presents itself as a magical “chandelier” over bright, fluid and sparkling. The idea that the jar of water can be read as a vertical column makes this project highly transient and has in its character, albeit, a potential for execution as well.
Honourable mentions:
Project no. BO13/ML1604
Illuminated Music
The project is based on an idea of adjustable openings to melt light, motion and music into a complete unity. The openings - reflecting aluminium on one side and the other side totally black – are conducted like stage lighting.
The project is visually well presented and unlike many other projects it does what it says by demonstrating elegance and simplicity. The simple idea – or veritable “one liner” - is to utilize daylight openings as adjustable spotlights.
Project no. VK058/DG1012
Living Bridge
The main idea is to create a skywalk – a covered plaza of Duisburg above the Rhine. The pedestrian area is created by a cut of two slices between an enclosed structure - with flooring and suspended ceiling that reflect the daylight and provide natural illumination in the oyster shell interior.
The jury finds the bridge innovative and beautiful and a new way to see light by passing the river. Living bridges have been forgotten and the combination of bridge and plaza is an intriguing gesture. The jury finds, however, little faith in the main construction and the shown section.
Project no. BO56/OA4601
Illumination Flux
The project is based on a series of scanned and digitally manipulated finish line photos originating from negatives found among trash in a demolished sports stadium.
It is a project based on a powerful conceptual idea that describes time, space and light – by pointing out a new dimension based on poetry and innovation. The project is a genuine example of celebrating being a student with the privilege of exploration.
Project no. VK226/CL0005
A walk with little thumb along the forest
The project proceeds to re-interpret the fairytale by Grimm, describing a walk in the thick forest where nature, light and man interact in a subtle manner.
The jury finds the project beautiful and emotional. It has very strong poetic elements and the story telling is obviously based on personal experiences. The study results in a laboratory of daylight, where the qualities of light and shadow are investigated in an intriguing way.
Project no. VK584/SN0001
Urban connector: Light_movement+moment
The project is based on physical model studies of the transition between a ground space and an open square in the city of Seoul. Considering height differences on the site, the project suggests a continuous sequence of surfaces.
The project represents an elaborate study of lightness and darkness and light and shadow in an urban context. The architectural approach is appealing, however, the jury is missing a more specific outcome of the investigations.
Project no. VK331/AR1499
Light Web
The concept of the project is to build a new community in the Hudson Yards, New York. By mimicking the way a spider catches insects, the towers in the project are designed to catch natural sunlight.
The study is interesting and very beautifully presented. The project results in an optical machine and represents a discussion of architecture versus art. More clarity in use of space would have been appreciated.
Project no. VK577/LI0001
Lighttrap
The project is based on investigations on how to provide daylight in indirect modes to rooms by using so called light traps based on transmission, reflection and diffusion.
The different light studies are nicely presented and they demonstrate involvement in the investigations as well as personal reflections. Some of the reflections and conclusion are, however, rather banal.
Project no. VK452/CV4479
The Parametric Mosaic
The project sketches an intercultural meeting place like a cybrid (a hybrid between a physical and a digital world) that can be physically and virtually. The space reflects electromagnetic radiation, air pollution, noise or other sorts of information in the area.
This is an accomplished and intellectual project with a political and polemic approach and a historic notion of architecture. The project demonstrates a wonderful play with light with building structures that react like plants on daylight and sunlight radiation.