2017 - Daylight Symposium
"The future is light" by Per Arnold Andersen
Speakers
Per Arnold Andersen (DK)
Architect
VELUX Group
Lecture from the 7th VELUX Daylight Symposium “Healthy & climate-friendly architecture– from knowledge to practice” that took place in Berlin on 3-4 May 2017. For more information visit http://thedaylightsite.com
From its beginning in 2004, the International VELUX Award for Students of Architecture has grown into one of the most important awards of its kind worldwide, with the participation so far of 4,500 student teams from more than 60 countries. The overall goal is to ensure that architectural education prioritizes daylighting as a discipline, and that a specific focus on daylight in architecture is integrated the schools´ curriculum.
The overall theme is ‘Light of Tomorrow’ and the participants in the award have developed thousands of bright reflections and ideas of how daylight can be used in buildings and dense urban spaces, as well as in the remotest rural areas. Who – if not the students and their teachers in the architecture schools of the world should aspire to redefine the role of daylight in architecture, to consider healthier, more “people-friendly” and more sustainable buildings? and embark on a conversation about the future of architectural education. With a modest start in Budapest in 2005, the VELUX Daylight Symposium has grown to be an internationally recognized meeting point for daylight research, daylight practice and policymaking.
It has brought together participants from different fields who rarely meet at conferences and has moved researchers, educators, architects, engineers and builders closer onto the same wavelength – with a clear willingness to share and collaborate. The first very symposium concluded that the various target groups were not necessarily on the same wavelength – but that there was a willingness to collaborate. This willingness has certainly been proved over the last ten years in discussions related to: daylight and learning – energy use and health - the effects of daylight on building occupants – how to put new eyes on the existing building stock – and how daylight can serve as a driver of change.
Also in 2005, the first Daylight and Architecture Magazine was published. The magazine has, with its 27 issues, created an ongoing communication platform – with an often provocative approach to the importance of daylight in our lives and buildings. The D/A magazine received in 2013 “German Architects’ Darling award”, in 2012 the Swedish award, “Guldbladet” and in 2010 the international “Best of Corporate Publishing Award”. The mentioned activities represent, together with many other activities, the VELUX Group´s passion for daylight daylight, fresh air and better living environments.
That was what started the company over 75 years ago and it is still what drives us forward. We want to support research, practice and education and want to have an ongoing dialogue across all disciplines related to daylighting. Per Arnold Andersen, Architect MAA, graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, the School of Architecture in Copenhagen in 1977. He worked for more than twenty years as an architect and project manager in major Danish architect offices. In 1999, he joined the VELUX Group, where he since 2003, has been the driver of the VELUX Group’s daylight strategies and initiatives. He has been active within the European standardization on light and lighting – and has been driving force in the making of the first European standard for daylight in buildings.
In 2003 he established The VELUX Group´s Knowledge Center for Daylight, Energy and Indoor Climate, with a cross disciplinary setup of architects and engineers. Per Arnold Andersen has worked continuously with the International VELUX Award for Students of Architecture since its start in 2004. In 2005, he initiated the VELUX Daylight Symposium. Since 2008, he has been active in the editorial team of “Daylight and Architecture” (the D/A Magazine by VELUX). Today, Per Arnold Andersen serves as special advisor to the VELUX Group and to the VELUX Foundations. For the VELUX Foundations, he has been advisor for the establishment of the new international prize (2016) “The Daylight Award” that honors architects and researchers for their achievements.
