A panel discussion focused on affordable housing and a talk by Open Architecture founder Li Hu are among the highlights of the second day of Velux's Build for Life digital conference.

Throughout the three-day Build for Life programme, which runs from 15 to 17 November, 90 experts will take part in talks and panels discussions examining climate-related challenges and opportunities in the built environment.

Dezeen is hosting three talks throughout the conference, which will be moderated by Dezeen's founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs and live-streamed on Dezeen.

The other talks will be delivered by Velux from two main stages in Copenhagen: the Compass stage and the Daylight Symposium stage.

Find out about the Dezeen sessions here, see the full Build for Life programme here, register for the full conference here and read on for some highlights from today's programme.

Is the future beautiful?
8:00am London time (9:00am Copenhagen time)
Compass stage

Broadcast live on Dezeen, Fairs will be joined by Mary Parsons, commissioner for the Building Better Building Beautiful Commission, Lorenzo de Simone, coordinator for New European Bauhaus' high-level round table, and Dana Behrman, associate director at UNStudio.

The panellists will examine quality and aesthetics in design and placemaking. The discussion will also focus on sustainable settlements and consider the role of homes as major levers for future change in sustainable architecture practice.

How can developers, real estate companies and digital development help to make everyday life affordable for the people?
12:00pm London time (1:00pm Copenhagen time)
Compass stage

The panel will focus on housing affordability and how houses should be designed to be cost-effective, sustainable and healthy without compromising society and the environment.

Speakers include Harwil de Jonge, director of Heijmans Real Estate, Marilyne Andersen (pictured), co-founder and managing director of Oculight Dynamics and professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, and Rasmus Nørgaard, founder of Home.Earth and co-founder of real-estate company NREP.

How can digital technologies support future cognitive buildings?
4:00pm London time (5:00pm Copenhagen time)
Compass stage

Architect and cognitive scientist Zakaria Djebbara from Aalborg University will discuss the impact of the built environment on mental health.

Djebbara will also discuss how creating an optimal indoor climate is an essential part of designing homes for wellbeing.

Daylight and Sustainability
9:00am London time (10:00am Copenhagen time)
Daylight Symposium stage

Dezeen's China editor Christina Yao will moderate a session from Shanghai titled Daylight and Sustainability.

It will focus on how buildings can regenerate the environment and examples of "daylight excellence" in Chinese architecture projects.

Speakers include Li Hu (pictured), founding partner of Open Architecture, Ye Qing, chairman of the Institute of Building Research, Sun Yimin, dean of the South China University of Technology, Joerg Lonkwitz, senior designer from Gensler, and Song Yehao, tenured professor from Tsinghua University and co-founder of SUP Atelier.

Pandemics
12:30pm to 14:00pm London time (1:30pm to 13:00pm Copenhagen time)
Daylight Symposium stage

Ayesha Batool (pictured), a doctoral candidate at the University of Nottingham, will discuss her project Drawing Daylight: An Analysis Of Daily Views From One Residential Window During Lockdown.

Also included in the session is a talk by Natalia Giraldo Vasquez, a postdoctoral researcher at the Technical University of Denmark, called Working and Studying from Home: Are Our Daylight Conditions Adequate For It?

The session will also see Till Roenneberg, professor at LMU Munich, give a lecture called Lock the Clock: The Effects of Social Restrictions on Daily Timing, Sleep and Wellbeing.

The top photograph is of Open Architecture's Shanghai Qingpu Pinghe International School. The photograph is by Chen Hao.

Velux's Build for Life conference takes place online from 15 to 17 November 2021. For details of more architecture and design events, visit Dezeen Events Guide

Dezeen x Velux Build for Life

This article was written by Dezeen for Velux as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.