VELUX and the role of natural light in our wellbeing

During the global Coronavirus pandemic, restrictions on travel and gatherings have forced us all to re-imagine longstanding models of work, education, and lifestyle. During this challenging time, people throughout the world have been reexamining their relationship with both indoor and outdoor spaces and many of us have become more acutely aware of our need for time spent in nature.

In addition to our own personal experiences, more and more research is helping us to understand just how important it is for us to spend time outside. In addition to exercise, we now know that fresh air, exposure to daylight, and views of nature are essential to the wellbeing of both our body and mind. And since, as a society, we are spending more time indoors than ever before, it’s becoming increasingly clear that we must not only remember to go outside, we also have to find ways to actively bring the outside into our homes, our public buildings, our communities, and our lives.

This Autumn, VELUX is hosting its 9th Daylight Symposium, a biennial conference organised for researchers, architects, and others with a professional interest in the importance of daylight for creating healthy and resilient buildings. Taking place from 15–17 November, this is a three-day digital event that will connect academics with other professionals in the fields of daylight research and practice.

The theme of this year’s Daylight Symposium is 'Bridging Research and Practice,' and the focus is on making new knowledge accessible to as many in the building industry as possible. Symposium speakers will translate their latest research–based in a number of various fields–from the specialised language of academia into presentations that will be inspiring and useful to a broad audience, including designers, architects, engineers, builders, and students. During their talks, expert speakers will highlight the many ways that daylight benefits the health and wellbeing of people, and how it can positively influence how we design, build, and live today and in the future.

Looking back at the 2019 event, Lisa Heschong, a fellow at the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, reflected on the importance of knowledge sharing events such as Daylight Symposium. ‘Here,’ says Heschong, ‘I’ve met new colleagues, had interesting conversations, and I’ve seen the community expanding; graduate students have become excited and more research is happening.’ Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg, an Associate Professor at the University of Oregon added, ‘The kind of integration that happens with this type of community can promote new knowledge exchange and really accelerate the impact of all of our work.’

The VELUX Daylight Symposium 2021 is a free and open digital event taking place from 15–17 November, 2021, with speakers presenting live from studios in Copenhagen, Denmark.

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