Light of Tomorrow by VELUX 2026 global student competition: Meet the jury!

Since Light of Tomorrow by VELUX was first launched in 2004 (formerly the International VELUX Award for students of architecture), more than 6,000 projects from students across the world have been submitted to the competition.

For the 12th edition in 2026, students will develop their projects under the “Light of Tomorrow” theme. Alongside five regional winners, three special prizes will be given to projects demonstrating ‘Daylight in New Buildings,’ ‘Daylight in Building Transformation,’ and ‘Daylight Investigations.’

Their projects will be evaluated by a distinguished jury appointed in collaboration with the International Union of Architects (UIA):

James Carpenter (USA)

James Carpenter has worked at the intersection of environment, architecture, fine art, and engineering for nearly 50 years, advancing a distinctive vision based on the use of natural light as the foundational element of the built environment. Carpenter founded the cross-disciplinary design firm Studio James Carpenter / JCDA in 1979 to support the application of these aesthetic principles to large-scale building projects.

Carpenter has been recognized with numerous national and international awards, including an Academy Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. James is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design in sculpture and a Loeb Fellow of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. He is an Associate Member of the AIA, Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and Honorary Royal Designer for Industry of the Royal Society of Arts

Liene Jākobsone (Latvia)

Liene Jākobsone is the founding partner of the Belgian-Latvian architecture practice SAMPLING, which develops critical and conceptual projects ranging from buildings, interiors, and reconstructions to exhibitions and product design. The practice seeks to address social and environmental challenges through architecture and spatial design, while maintaining a strong emphasis on aesthetic qualities. As part of her curatorial work, Jākobsone co-curated the Latvian Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia.

Alongside her professional practice, Jākobsone is also active in academia. She holds a PhD and serves as Director and Senior Researcher at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture at the Art Academy of Latvia. Her research focuses on issues in design and architecture, particularly the ideological conditions that shape design practice and its outcomes. She is especially interested in the potential of non-traditional forms of inquiry and in exploring ways to foster criticality in design.

Níall McLaughlin (Ireland)

Níall McLaughlin designs buildings for education, culture, health, religious worship, and housing. He won Young British Architect of the Year in 1998, the RIBA Charles Jencks Award for Simultaneous Contribution to Theory and Practice in 2016, and the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 2026. Níall was elected an Aosdána Member for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts in Ireland and as a Royal Academician in the Category of Architecture in 2019. In 2020, he was awarded an Honorary MBE for Services to Architecture. Níall has been shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2013, 2015, 2018, and was the winner in 2022 for The New Library, Magdalene College. His work is featured in the Sir Banister Fletcher’s Global History of Architecture, 21st edition, and Kenneth Frampton’s Modern Architecture, 5th edition.

Oya Atalay Franck (Switzerland) UIA Representative

Prof. Dr. Oya Atalay Franck BSA/SIA is an architect, architectural historian, and award-winning educator. She is Dean of the School of Architecture, Design, and Civil Engineering at ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland. From 2017 to 2024, she served as President of the European Association for Architectural Education (EAAE). Her teaching and research focus on architectural theory and history, urbanisation, and design research. She has taught at several universities, among others at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in the United States, ETH Zurich, and ZHAW, and has published widely on architectural education, design doctorates, and research methodologies. She also serves as an expert for international scientific bodies, peer reviews, accreditations, and professional design competitions.

Elena Arregui Jaeger (Spain) VELUX Representative

Elena Arregui Jaeger is the Market Director at VELUX Iberia, where she has dedicated over two decades to projects that enhance quality of life through daylight and fresh air, with a focus on efficient design. She is driven by a belief in transforming homes to foster a deeper connection with nature.

With more than 20 years of leadership experience across general management, business development, and marketing, Elena is passionate about creating meaningful value for customers, partners, and employees, and on leading high-performing teams toward excellence and innovation. Elena holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from universities in Madrid (Spain) and Münster (Germany) and an Executive MBA from IE Business School in Madrid.

Doris Wälchli (Switzerland) Alternate Juror

After graduating from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Doris Wälchli started her architectural career with a residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris and subsequently worked for practices in Barcelona and Lucerne, before founding Brauen Wälchli Architectes in partnership with Ueli Brauen.

She has taught at various architecture schools in Switzerland and internationally. She is currently chair of CUB, the Fondation Culture du Bâti (foundation for a high-quality built environment). She was previously a member of Lucerne’s urban planning committee and also chair of the Bern urban planning committee. Since 2023, she is chair of the Swiss Conference of Architects, and in this capacity, a delegate at the International Union of Architects UIA and at the Architects’ Council of Europe ACE.

Jury Procedures
The jury will meet in April 2026 to evaluate the submitted projects and select 5 regional winners from each of the five UIA member regions: 1) Western Europe, 2) Eastern Europe and the Middle East, 3) the Americas, 4) Asia + Oceania, and 5) Africa. 3 special prizes will be given to the best projects demonstrating ‘Daylight in New Buildings,’ ‘Daylight in Building Transformation,’ and ‘Daylight Investigations.’

The selected regional winners will be invited to an event during the UIA World Congress of Architects in Barcelona, where they will present their projects to the jury in front of a live audience. The jury will then select 1 global winner.

How to participate?
To enter the competition and award, students need to register before 30 March 2026. Registration is open now and is free, requiring only an email address and a phone number. The next step is to assemble a team, connect with the teacher, and start developing the project. Projects must be submitted by the deadline, April 6, 2026.

Register here.

The key dates
March 30, 2026: Registration deadline
April 6, 2026: Submission deadline; project upload (deadline 11:59 PM UTC+12)
April 2026: Jury meeting and announcement of Regional Winners
June 26–30, 2026: Regional winners' workshop, Presentations to the Jury, and Awards Ceremony — Global Winner announced

The award brief
The competition and award invites students to explore the role of daylight in architecture. The aim is to encourage and challenge students of architecture to create a deeper understanding of daylight as an ever-relevant source of energy, light, and life. View the full brief at: https://www.daylightandarchitecture.com/award-brief/

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