Press Release
Bronze A' Design Award in Building Materials and Construction Components Design Goes to Light Leaf Daylight Redirecting Louver by Leijing Zhou
Leijing Zhou recognized for building materials and construction components design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 15, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Bronze A' Design Award in the Building Materials and Construction Components Design category for Light Leaf Daylight Redirecting Louver by Leijing Zhou, designed for Zhejiang University. The result belongs to the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The Bronze A' Design Award Explained
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
Regarding Light Leaf Daylight Redirecting Louver
LightLeaf is a daylight redirecting louver system for homes with limited natural light. Conventional blind slats are replaced with adjustable light guiding blades that capture ambient daylight and reflect it deeper into the room. The blades combine a high reflectance upper surface with a diffusive lower finish to control glare. A lightweight aluminium frame with pivot hinges and position locks lets the unit be pushed outward when more daylight is needed. The system supports modular fabrication and non invasive installation on existing window frames.
About Leijing Zhou
She has studied in the UK, the Netherlands and Singapore for many years. Her research direction is human-computer interaction and intelligent design. She has won more than 10 Red dot design awards, IF design awards etc. and published nearly 10 international journals and papers. She has participated in organizing the world industrial design conference, the world ecological design conference and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization ecological design leading class as the core personnel.
Award Record
With this recognition, Leijing Zhou is a winner of 10 A' Design Awards. The awards were granted between the 2022 - 2023 and the 2025 - 2026 editions of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Building Materials and Construction Components Design Award
The A' Building Components Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good building components by best brands and designers worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to building material manufacturers, building material brands, construction product designers and industrial designers from all countries. Typical entries include bricks, beams, windows, doors, insulation materials and roofing materials. The awarded building components designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/building-components
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/181573
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/181573
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!181573
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/112694
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Light Leaf Daylight Redirecting Louver
- Function
- Daylight Redirecting Louver
- Category
- Building Materials and Construction Components Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Architecture and Manufacturing
- Colors
- Black, Gainsboro, Dark Slate Gray, White Smoke and Silver
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Zhejiang University
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Leijing Zhou
- Country
- China
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #181573
Credits
- Team
- Keyin Chen, Qikai Tang, Yi Zhou, Rui Yao, Menghan Li, Yijun Zhao and Bingjing Fang
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- LightLeaf is a daylight-redirecting louver system for living spaces with insufficient natural light. By replacing conventional blind slats with adjustable light-guiding blades, it captures ambient daylight and redirects it deeper indoors, creating soft, even illumination without daytime electricity. Designed for low-floor, north-facing, or compact residences, LightLeaf improves visual comfort and spatial quality while balancing privacy, safety, and energy efficiency.
- Inspiration
- This project was inspired by the widespread issue of underlit living spaces, especially low-floor, north-facing, or obstructed residences. Observations of residents relying on temporary reflective panels and daytime artificial lighting revealed the need for a more effective and integrated solution. Drawing from passive daylighting principles, LightLeaf reimagines conventional blinds as a light-guiding system to improve indoor environmental quality without additional energy use.
- Research
- This project is based on applied design research addressing insufficient daylight in residential spaces. The goal was to redesign a familiar window element to improve indoor light quality without electricity. Field observations of low-floor and north-facing homes were combined with simple daylight behavior studies and visual simulations. Results showed that redirecting light upward reduces glare and increases brightness deeper inside, improving comfort and energy efficiency through minimal structural intervention.
- Challenge
- The main challenge was converting a conventional shading device into an effective daylighting system without adding complexity. It required balancing light redirection, glare control, privacy, and structural stability within existing window constraints. Building regulations and wind resistance were key external factors. The solution focused on simplifying the mechanism while maintaining performance and safety.
- Realization and Technology
- LightLeaf integrates a lightweight aluminum frame with pivot hinges, position locks, and adjustable louver assemblies. The dual-surface louvers combine a high-reflectance upper coating with a diffusive lower finish to enable controlled daylight redirection. The system is engineered for modular fabrication and non-invasive installation on existing window frames. Its design development referenced passive daylighting principles, facade engineering strategies, and basic optical reflection modeling to optimize light distribution efficiency and glare control.
- Operation and Interaction
- LightLeaf functions like a regular blind in daily use, allowing users to adjust the slats for shading and privacy. When more daylight is needed, the lock is released and the unit is gently pushed outward. By rotating the blades, incoming light is reflected upward and distributed deeper into the room. This simple transformation redirects natural light more evenly, reducing glare near the window while brightening darker areas indoors.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project commenced in October 2025 and was completed in January 2026.
- Specifications
- 900mm x 80mm x 1350mm
- Keywords
- Daylight redirecting system, Light-guiding louvers, Passive daylighting, Energy-efficient housing, Urban living solutions, Non-invasive installation, Sustainable architecture, Indoor environmental quality
