EPFL to host the 2018 Daylight Award Ceremony

The Daylight Award, established in 1980, supports daylight research carried out for the benefit of human health, well-being and the environment. This year’s laureates – Hiroshi Sambuichi of Japan for architecture and Greg Ward of the US for research – will be honored at a ceremony at EPFL’s Rolex Learning Center on 27 September 2018.

The chair of this year’s jury is Marilyne Andersen, who won the 2016 Daylight Award for Research and is a full professor at EPFL and the head of EPFL’s Laboratory of Integrated Performance in Design (LIPID). She will also moderate the Daylight Award Event on 27 September, which will include a panel discussion on how daylight can enhance both design and technical performance.

Architect Hiroshi Sambuichi’s work includes the Shizuki Castle House, Naoshima Hall and the Mount Misen Observatory on Miyajima, a favorite among tourists to Japan. He is receiving this year’s award for his mastership in creating buildings that are in perfect harmony with their surroundings and the natural elements – an achievement that requires a considerable amount of research. “Sambuichi’s buildings bring a poetic response to the nature and landscapes surrounding them, with careful attention to natural light, colors and textures. The softened daylight inside his buildings brings you in harmony with nature and connects you with the outdoors,” says Andersen.

Computer scientist Greg Ward is the developer of Radiance, a revolutionary software program that can simulate daylight in any type of building. The software was introduced 30 years ago yet remains the benchmark for studying the possibilities of daylight, thanks to the passion of both Ward and Radiance users for continually improving the software. Today it is available as an open-access application. Radiance is used even beyond the field of architecture – NASA scientists rely on it to simulate living conditions for astronauts in spacecraft, for example. Ward’s research on digital graphics has led to innovative developments in high-dynamic-range (HDR) imaging, a technique now used in all smartphones. “Through his pioneering work, Ward has made a seminal contribution to methods for modeling and predicting the effects of light – especially daylight – inside buildings,” according to Andersen.

VIDEO: discover the 2018 Daylight Award laureates

The prestigious Daylight Award is given every two years. Initially open only to architects, a research category was added in 2016. Previous laureates in architecture include James Carpenter of the US (and jury member in 2016 and 2018), Lacaton & Vassal of France, Peter Zumthor of Switzerland, Jorn Utzon of Denmark and, in 2014, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa – the architects behind EPFL’s Rolex Learning Center – of Japanese architecture firm SANAA. Sejima and Nishizawa also won the highly coveted Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2010, as did Zumthor in 2009. Andersen is the first laureate of the Daylight Award in Research, in 2016.

• The 2018 Daylight Award Ceremony will be held at EPFL’s Rolex Learning Center from 3pm to 8pm on 27 September 2018
• Sign up to receive an invitation