Professor Yoshiharu Tsukamoto awarded The Daylight Award for Architecture 2026

The Daylight Award for Architecture 2026 is awarded to Momoyo Kaijima and Yoshiharu Tsukamoto, founders of the architectural firm Atelier Bow-Wow, which they run together with their partner Yoichi Tamai.

The architect duo describes key themes in their work under the term Architectural Behaviorology. These include daylight and windows, the interplay of architecture and natural forces, and the interaction between buildings and people. In the work of Kaijima and Tsukamoto, natural light is not only an aesthetic feature. It is a research variable, a cultural signal and a social catalyst. Their architecture is not unlimited glass nor spectacular openness. It is the careful discovery of daylight under constraint. In dense cities, they show that good daylight may arrive indirectly, through reflection, borrowed sky, filtered eaves, narrow gaps, seasonal courtyards and windows that respond to their surroundings.

The work of Kaijima and Tsukamoto is not defined by imposing scale, elaborate detailing or an unmistakable design language. Rather, it is defined by empathy for the vernacular, attention to particular locations and specific tasks, commitment to existing structures, and inventive and skilful use of architectural means. The essential factor is the use of buildings, their vital relationship with daylight and weather, and their connection with inhabitants.

The projects of Kaijima and Tsukamoto, carried out with Atelier Bow-Wow since 1992, include medium sized and smaller buildings for everyday use, among them residential buildings, offices, kindergartens, gallery spaces, research buildings, workshops and ad hoc architecture. Their innovative, thoughtful and highly varied work is often articulated through an inventive integration of daylight as a defining architectural element.

About The Daylight Award

The Daylight Award honours and supports research in the scientific understanding of daylight and its significance for health, wellbeing and a balanced ecosystem, as well as its experiential and mental value in architectural design. The intention is to underline the collaboration of disciplines that are usually considered as separate professional realms of expertise. The Daylight Award strives to raise an integrated understanding of daylight in human life and the wider ecosystem, and to strengthen its positive impact.

The Daylight Award is presented by the Daylight Academy (DLA), an international membership organization that brings together scientists from all backgrounds, as well as architects, engineers and other professionals who are involved in daylight research or have a strong interest in daylight related topics.