Spanish architect and professor Alberto Campo Baeza, winner of the BigMat International Architecture Award Grand Prize in 2015, has been awarded with The Daylight Award 2024 in the architecture category.

On the UNESCO International Day of Light, The Daylight Award announced its 2024 laureates: Spanish architect and professor Alberto Campo Baeza for his contributions to architecture, and German professor of chronobiology Till Roenneberg for his groundbreaking research.

The two categories of The Daylight Award—scientific research and architectural design—recognize a duality aimed at integrating high-level research into architectural practice. This integration creates a scientific grounding for the use of daylight in architecture.

Architects and Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Architects have historically collaborated with engineers from various fields. In recent decades, sciences such as biology, psychology, sociology, and neuroscience have provided scientifically validated insights into the subtle requirements and impacts of architectural qualities.

The Daylight Award for Daylight in Architecture

The architectural category of the award celebrates the sensory, aesthetic, emotional, and mental qualities of daylight in architecture. The 2024 laureate, Professor Alberto Campo Baeza from Spain, is known for his restrained and silent examples of sensuous, mental, and poetic qualities in the architectural use of daylight.

Campo Baeza’s works celebrate the silent miracles of daylight in buildings with diverse functions. His designs exemplify the spiritual qualities of daylight, expanding the understanding of its values beyond scientific scopes.

In addition to his archetypically simple and focused houses, Campo Baeza has designed various buildings, including the Andalusia’s Museum of Memory, the recently completed Robert Olnick Pavilion of the Magazzino Museum in New York, the Caja Granada Savings Bank, a sports hall for Francisco de Vitoria University in Madrid, Almería Cathedral Square, and several office buildings. All these projects share the intention of ennobling the architectural experience through abstraction and reduction.

His unwavering confidence in his essential style often projects an air of silent spirituality, providing a valuable alternative to today’s materialistic, consumerist architecture.

The Daylight Award for Daylight Research

The 2024 laureate for Daylight Research is Emeritus Professor of Chronobiology Till Roenneberg from the Institute of Medical Psychology at the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, Germany. Roenneberg’s work focuses on chronobiology, particularly circadian rhythms and their dependencies. His research has significantly enhanced understanding of the multifaceted impacts of daylight on human health, wellbeing, and performance. His influential and widely cited publications have practical applications in medicine, public policy, and architecture.

Roenneberg developed and validated the Munich ChronoType Questionnaire (MCTQ) to study circadian entrainment globally. One key finding is that human biological clocks are profoundly influenced by the natural light/dark cycle, even amidst increasing urbanization.

Roenneberg also introduced the concept of „social jetlag,“ highlighting the discrepancy in sleep timing between workdays and free days, which reflects the adjustments individuals must make for work that are contrary to their natural biology. Extensive social jetlag can pose biological challenges to circadian and sleep systems, with links to obesity, depression, and substance abuse.

The Jury

The cross-disciplinary 2024 jury consisted of Finnish architect and writer Juhani Pallasmaa (jury chair), British professor of circadian neuroscience Russell Foster, Danish architect and creative director Dorte Mandrup, Dutch professor of environmental psychology Yvonne de Kort, Swiss professor of pharmaceutical chemistry Gerd Folkers, Dutch architectural photographer Iwan Baan, and American director of the Institute of Economic Botany, New York Botanical Garden, Michael Balick.

About The Daylight Award

The Daylight Award honors and supports daylight research and its application in architecture. It acknowledges and encourages scientific knowledge and practical application of daylight, interlinking disciplines often addressed separately. The award aims to raise a holistic understanding of daylight and enhance its positive impact on life.

Established by the philanthropic foundations Villum Fonden, VELUX FONDEN, and Velux Stiftung, The Daylight Award is conferred biennially in two categories: The Daylight Award for Research and The Daylight Award for Architecture. Each laureate receives a personal prize of €100,000.