Architectural Design Today at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

Natural daylight and sunlight have always played a determining role in architecture. Through this Award, VELUX wants to stimulate reflection and debate on the re-interpretation of daylight in architectural design today. The aim of the Award is to encourage innovation in this field and to highlight quality architectural solutions that improve the quality of living conditions and the environment. All types of buildings can be proposed, be they newly built or refurbished, facilities or housing. The focus must be on daylight, whether in architectural design concept or in research into daylight construction techniques.

In the past few years, the academic and professional debate has focused primarily on form-making, the most obvious result of which has been those blobs, or funny shapes, that have proliferated in many architectural and urban design studios. But according to architectural theorist Antoine Picon: "What many designers have had in common is the belief that architectural form must express the intrinsic complexity of the invisible electronic networks and fields that surround it. Carlo Ratti and his colleagues and partners have taken a different course. Their mapping comes prior to any architectural endeavor. It reveals a level of complexity with which design should not even try to compete."

Architectural Resources Group was founded in 1980 with the belief that historic buildings play an important role in communities, creating places that have value and meaning. As a full-service architectural firm, ARG promotes an integrated design process involving architectural design, sustainability, and preservation. The firm believes that older buildings can coexist with contemporary uses in positive ways for both the user and community at large.