The 2nd Trends in Lighting (TiL), co-hosted with the LED Professional Symposium +Expo (LpS), saw lighting designers, innovators, architects and planners come together with technologists, engineers and researchers in Bregenz, Austria.
Attendees explored questions such as: What does humancentric lighting really mean, how does it affect design, and do users require further education in the lighting that surrounds them? How can lighting design become more agile to keep up with rapidly changing user behaviors and new functionality requirements? What is the role that digitalization is playing in revolutionizing lighting? How will connectivity manifest, and what is the potential value and pit falls of the Internet of Things? How does lighting transform into a multidisciplinary service, one that plays an integral part in architecture, aesthetics, behavioral sciences and technologies?
At a press conference during the event, Till Armbüster of Licht Kunst Licht, representing the lighting design profession, said:
“It’s very exciting times for lighting designers due to the new technologies, but lighting designers need to refocus on the type of lighting they are using. They need to go back to the people at the heart of it. Light has moved away from the user, we have to investigate how we interact with light and what it can create. We need to use technology to make the connection between the user and the light.”
Taking this approach one-step further was Jan Denneman of Global Lighting Association, who said:
“The lighting within which we all work, learn or play every day is wrong for the human brain, it is biological darkness and I hope the industry will embark on correcting this is 2019. We need to inform the user about lighting quality, ‘nutritional light,’ and the industry needs to move from a customer focus to a user focus.”
Ourania Georgoutsakou, Secretary General of industry association LightingEurope, highlighted the need for functionality and usability:
“This industry needs to keep talking about the value of lighting, and of better lighting. The focus has to go back to the user and the value they receive in the form of energy savings, intelligence and quality lighting that impacts their well-being and health. And we have to keep it simple: the user just needs effortless quality lighting and we should not forget this … We need to work together, with a common vision and goal for us all (the lighting industry) to follow. We have to create the value of light to bring value to the industry.”
Representing manufacturer Signify, Peter Duine said the future of the industry will be creating smarter solutions for urban life:
“As a city manager I would expect to be able to manage my assets in the future much more easily. You can facilitate ease of management with connectivity inside the lights … With this mindset we can focus on basic use cases and add real value. We need to see greater investment in network engineering to allow the potential of connected lighting to become apparent and massively adopted. It is only the beginning of connected lighting, but I can say that lighting will never be the same again.”
TiL 2018’s Rogier van der Heide brought up the subject of resources, education and longevity:
“The industry needs to get its head around what has to be done to deliver these future solutions we are talking about. We need to look outside of the industry to find the best human capital. We have to attract young people. Where is the generation who is always online? They are the ones who can help us create new meaning and purpose with light.”
LpS and TiL 2019 will take place in Bregenz on September 24 – 26. Click here to learn more.
