The Trustees of the Jonathan Speirs Scholarship Fund (JSSF) have announced that Laura Carcano and Lawrence Lynch are the winners of the Fund’s 2020-2021 award.
Currently studying architecture at London Metropolitan University, Laura Carcano earned a first degree from Politecnico of Milano, following which she spent one year working as an architectural assistant. During the course of her research, Carcano became increasingly curious about the importance of the biological and emotional impacts—on people’s moods, performance, productivity and many other aspects of daily life, even body temperature. Carcano’s future plans, to be supported by the scholarship, include further studies and research into the role of light in creating responsive and adaptive architecture that improves emotional and physical well-being.
A student of the Welsh School of Architecture at the University of Cardiff, Lawrence Lynch’s undergraduate degree work evidences a clear passion for the poetics of light and form. Having spent some time working for DaeWha Kang Design—a firm specializing in well-being and human-oriented design—Lynch has cultivated a deep interest in the psychological effects of light. Returning to architectural studies, Lynch’s Master’s dissertation explored how biophilic aesthetics affect emotional well-being. It is this research that he would like to continue into the future with the support of the scholarship, with the aim of informing his own design work and aiding the general understanding of the emotional effects of lighting within architecture.
John Roake, Chairman of the JSSF, commented: “When we announced the Jonathan Speirs Scholarship last year, little did we know of what lay ahead. We suspected it was going to be an extremely difficult time for students to study, particularly in the creative industries, but we hoped that with online conferencing that some manner of tutoring would be available. Despite the very best efforts of the universities all this year’s submissions spoke of the extreme difficulties experienced both with remote studying and finances.
It is therefore with the greatest pleasure that despite this, the resilience and fortitude of the students who made this year’s submissions has resulted in two fantastic new scholars to add to our growing list.…We congratulate them both on becoming part of the JSSF family and trust that their scholarships will help them to finish their studies and go on to develop further as both architects and lighting designers. I conclude with a ‘thank you’ to all our supporters: In a year which has been so hard in all sectors of business, to have the financial backing of our generous sponsors has shown us the true meaning of charity. Jonathan would have been proud.”
Funded entirely by donations—particularly from the lighting, architecture and engineering communities—the JSSF has been set up at the behest of the late Jonathan Speirs to allow “a student of architecture to investigate the study of architectural lighting design.” For more information or to support the cause, contact info@jssf.org.uk or visit www.jssf.org.uk.