User:MaKor/The Daylight and Building Component Award

INTRODUCTION
The Daylight and Building Component Award is presented annually to an individual or group of individuals who have contributed significantly to the technical, social, artistic or design-related understanding of daylight. Previous awardees include architects, scientists, artists and building professionals and the award carries with it a prize of 100,000 Euro.

The award was established in 1980 and is given by the two charitable organizations that make up the VELUX FOUNDATIONS. The foundations’ purpose is to distribute charitable grants and awards that support research and dissemination within the fields of natural sciences, technology, social science, the environment and culture.

HISTORY
Upon its establishment in 1980, the Daylight and Building Component Award was initially given to Danish citizens who had made a significant contribution to the understanding and practical use of daylight. In the early years, this meant that many of the recipients were architects or artists, many of whom had worked with daylight in an architectural or design context. Jørn Utzon, one of the most famous Danish Architects of the 20th century, was among the group awarded the first year. Through the next twenty-five years, the award was given intermittently and often to larger groups of individuals each time. In 2006, the award was given to the father-son team Povl Wilhelm Wohlert and Claus Ditlev Wohlert for their lifelong contributions to architecture with among many other projects the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art north of Copenhagen.

In 2008, the award adopted some notable changes. First, it was converted to an annual award with distinct categories. Candidates are reviewed by an award committee within these four categories:

1. Daylighting design

2. Contribution to the science of daylighting

3. Contribution to awareness or interest about daylighting.

4. Contribution to the awareness of the industrial building component’s importance, value and practical use in the everyday life

The monetary prize attached to the award was also doubled in 2008 to 100,000 Euro, making it one of the largest of its kind within architecture, the sciences and the building communities worldwide. The award is given around the first of March each year at a ceremony in Hørsholm, Denmark.

EXTERNAL LINKS AND SOURCES

 * The VELUX FOUNDATIONS
 * Louisiana Museum of Modern Art