News
10 March 2020
Coronavirus and the Sun: a Lesson from the 1918 Influenza Pandemic
During the influenza pandemic 100 years ago, “medics found that severely ill flu patients nursed outdoors recovered better than those treated indoors. A combination of fresh air and sunlight seems to have prevented deaths among patients; and infections among medical staff.” Could this ...
03 March 2020
New paper out: The Role of Daylight for Humans
Human beings evolved under natural light/dark cycles. Artificial light exposure interacts and competes with this natural light/dark cycle. What are the consequences of our living conditions in industrialised urban areas with much less daylight (and more artificial light) on our health and wellbeing...
09 January 2020
Olafur Eliasson at Kunsthaus Zürich
From 17 January to 22 March 2020 the Kunsthaus Zürich presents a major solo exhibition by Olafur Eliasson, member of the Daylight Academy and one of the most important artists working today. Developed in close dialogue between Eliasson and curator Mirjam Varadinis, ‘Symbiotic seeing’ aims to ...
17 December 2019
DLA Summer School: call for applications
This is your opportunity to apply for the Interdisciplinary Summer School “Measuring Natural Illumination” organised by the Daylight Academy (20-24 July 2020). Using Horace Bénédict de Saussure’s cyanometer (1789) for measuring the colour of the sky as a starting point, you will develop an...
13 December 2019
Online Art Exhibition: DAYLIGHT
This exhibition has been realised by members of the University of Regensburg as part of the DLA project “Materials responding to daylight”. Perspectives from science, art, economy, society and politics are made visible in these works and stimulate each other. In this way, differences and...
29 November 2019
DLA Annual Conference 2019: presentations and photos now available!
This year’s DLA Annual Conference attracted almost 100 participants and placed particularly emphasis on how scientists and artists can learn from each other. The exchanges were lively and inspiring and new project ideas were developed. Discover or rediscover key moments through the ...
27 November 2019
How about cooking with sunlight?
EPFL scientists have developed a glass-paneled solar cooker that delivers exceptional performance. Their patented design can operate an average of 155 days a year in Switzerland’s cloudiest regions and up to 240 days in its sunniest. “We believe our cooker could help reduce the load on ...
14 November 2019
Message from Olafur Eliasson for the DLA Annual Conference 2019
Olafur Eliasson, founding member of the Daylight Academy, could participate remotely to the Daylight Academy Conference 2019, Expanding Horizons: Can Art Enlighten Science? In this video Olafur Eliasson presents what daylight represents for him in his artistic research and how he sees the role of ...
22 October 2019
Virtual Symposium “Materials responding to daylight”: videos now online
(Day)light can cause many different responses. In three short presentations, the webinar explores how light makes plants move, can induce physiological effects and change the properties of materials in buildings. The interdisciplinary view on a common phenomenon may help to inspire new approaches in...
30 September 2019
Daylight levels affect our thermal perception
A pioneering study carried out at EPFL shows that the amount of daylight in a room can influence our thermal comfort and how well we tolerate heat or cold. The findings could be used to improve existing building standards and decrease energy consumption. The study has been published in Scientific ...
27 September 2019