Light of Tomorrow by VELUX 2026
Competition Brief
Intent
Light of Tomorrow by VELUX 2026 is a biennial global competition and award for architecture students. It invites the contestants to use daylight as a basic design element to consider how natural light can change the atmosphere, affect health, and help eco-friendly buildings. The contest has been held every two years since 2004 and has reached out to thousands of students all over the globe.
Purpose
The Light of Tomorrow intends to stimulate and challenge the thought process of the architecture students regarding the daylight, its main role being a source of energy, light, health, and life. The competition cultivates the use of unorthodox and trial approaches to daylight in architecture, such as its aesthetic, functional, sociological, and environmental dimensions. It also wants to create a strong awareness of the extent to which daylight influences people both in novel and existing constructions.
Requirements
All architecture students worldwide, who are registered during the academic year 2025/26, are welcome to participate in the competition. A single student or a group can contribute, and the submission must be supported by a teacher from an accredited architecture school. Interdisciplinary teams from engineering, design, and related fields are accepted, but PhD students and VELUX employees are not allowed. The projects should focus on the use of daylight in new buildings, transformations, or daylight-related research and should be submitted anonymously.
Jury
An expert panel consisting of architects and daylight researchers from around the world will be responsible for evaluating the submissions. The jury will judge the entries according to different aspects like the theme of daylight, clarity of the concept, innovation, quality of research, and visual presentation. In 2026 the jury will consist of internationally acknowledged professionals chosen in cooperation with the International Union of Architects (UIA). Announcing of winners for different regions and awarding of special prizes will be followed by picking of a global winner as a result of the jury’s work.
Fees
| Registration Phase | Fee |
|---|---|
| Participation | Free |
Participation in Light of Tomorrow by VELUX is free of charge for all eligible students, encouraging wide global engagement. daylightandarchitecture.com
Rewards
| Category | Reward |
|---|---|
| Regional Winners | Prize money for students and supervisors |
| Special Prizes | Prize money for thematic categories |
| Global Winner | Prize money and recognition |
Prizes include regional awards for the best projects from each of the five International Union of Architects regions (Western Europe, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, the Americas, Asia + Oceania, and Africa), three special prizes in specific categories, and a global award for the most compelling project. Winners also receive prize money and recognition for both students and their supervising teachers.
Dates
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Registration Opens | September 1 2025 |
| Registration Deadline | March 30 2026 |
| Submission Deadline | April 6 2026 |
| Jury Evaluation | April 27–28 2026 |
| Winners Announcement | May 2026 |
| Winners’ Workshop and Awards Ceremony | June 26 – July 2 2026 |
The competition includes a workshop and awards event where regional winners present their projects live to the jury, followed by selection of the global winner.
✦ ArchUp Competition Review
The Light of Tomorrow by VELUX competition is held by VELUX, which is a well-established company in the daylight and skylight industry and gives clear information about the competition structure but only a little about the specific jury members for this round. The competition is professional and open to architects and designers only and is all about buildings with daylight-responsive design. The prizes are quite big if you compare them with the requirements, however, the biggest advantage for taking part is the enhancement of one’s portfolio and the exposure to the industry rather than the assurance of getting project commissions. The jury’s competence and experience are assumed to be above par considering the company VELUX, but the lack of named judges means that one cannot completely assess the credibility of the evaluation.
Conclusion
Light of Tomorrow by VELUX 2026 goes on with the long history of nurturing young architects to explore the production of light in the architectural practice. The competition’s worldwide and priorities on research and experimentation not only make it a prestigious platform for the students who want to gain deeper insights into the light’s role as a practical and conceptual design element. Besides, such students will experience being a part of the international scene through workshops and presentations and might win regional and global awards and get free participation which would certainly keep them in the attics of innovation along with the cross-disciplinary thinking and architectural education focused on environmental and human-centered design.
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