Previous awardees include architects, scientists, artists and building professionals, and the award carries with it a prize of 100,000 Euro.
In the early years, this meant that many of the recipients were architects or artists, many of whom had worked with daylight in an architectural or design context.
Jørn Utzon, one of the most famous Danish Architects of the 20th century, was among the group awarded the first year.
In 2008, was converted to an annual award with four categories: The monetary prize was also doubled in 2008 to 100,000 Euro, making it one of the largest of its kind within the architecture and building communities worldwide.
In 2010, the award was given to American architect James Carpenter, whose recent projects include the design of 7 World Trade Center, the first building to be reconstructed at the site since Sept. 11, 2001.