Trends in Lighting Forum &Show: Diverse Programme Entices Lighting Luminaries Amongst Startups for the Third Year Trends in Lighting Forum &Show: Diverse Programme Entices Lighting Luminaries Amongst Startups for the Third Year
In its 3rd year the Trends in Lighting Forum &Show (TiL) attracted speakers from international heavyweights Speirs + Major and BDP. Co-hosted with LED... Trends in Lighting Forum &Show: Diverse Programme Entices Lighting Luminaries Amongst Startups for the Third Year

In its 3rd year the Trends in Lighting Forum &Show (TiL) attracted speakers from international heavyweights Speirs + Major and BDP. Co-hosted with LED professional Symposium +Expo (LpS) and DALI Summit delegates gathered in the unique lake setting of Bregenz, Austria. The three international conference and exhibition events were carefully curated to bring together a unique blend of award winning industry talent including; architects, planners, lighting designers, investors, scientists and technologists.

The forum is styled as bridging the gap between architecture, application design and technologies. Key themes this year were interdependent technologies, human centric design and more acutely, sustainability. The approach of combining distinct lighting fields by Luger Research; LpS 2019, TiL 2019 and DALI Summit 2019, succeeds in creating space for conversations and knowledge sharing to facilitate the evolution of lighting design and planning in the complex global environment.

Lecture

The combined three day event presented delegates with the opportunity to interact with an extensive selection of prominent keynote speakers from the lighting design world. The opera stage and theatre spaces were utilised for panel discussions, lectures and workshops crossing disciplines and sectors of industry. The delegation saw a lively, CEO + Influencer panel moderated by Rogier van der Heide with audience participation. Key areas for discussion included product news, industry opinion, industry legislation updates and key expectations and challenges facing designers and planners for the coming years. A consensus amongst the panel was a clear request for collaboration across lighting designers, component manufacturers and luminaire manufacturers.

The exhibition hall was awash with startups and global industry giants simultaneously showcasing the latest developments in interoperability, sustainability and digital technologies. An exciting young venture Lightly Technologies of Ireland demonstrated their ultra-thin (3.2mm) luminaires adaptable to multiple design applications. Designers and planners could appreciate the full complement of final products, components and modules, equipment and service providers. This included wireless technologies, driver manufacturers, Internet of Light controllers, luminaires, digital communication devices and 3D printers to name a few. Trends in Lighting: there was a sense of urgency for a holistic approach from the realms of architecture, end users and technology providers in order to be able to further develop human centric lighting solutions. Jan Denneman from the Good Light Group said,  “Lighting systems should stimulate the biological clock, the mood, that is the feature the world is waiting for doing that needs a lot of IoT.”

Panel discussion

 

On sustainability. Rogier van der Heide said, “The lighting industry has accomplished a lot compared to other industries.” Ourania Georgoutsakou from Lighting Europe discusses how regulation helps deliver opportunities to customers upon phase-out of obsolete products. “There is an opportunity to explain to customers why there is a need to transition to the next technology. To meet the Paris Climate Agreement we need to update 97% of EU buildings. A huge opportunity for the lighting world.”

Klaus Röwekamp, Director at Trilux discusses the role of data and digital services model viability and its reliance on end user testing and partnerships. “There are a lot of opportunities and ideas but we have to test more to see what the future could bring. We are open to new exploring new solutions and we have to find the right partners to work with.”

Tomasz Zareba Digital Services Director at Zumtobel on standardisation and the future. “We see a very huge fragmentation in communication protocols. The bigger the fragmentation the less the effects of scale on working with a common solution and introducing new features.” On the future of lighting, “In retail and in museums, LiFi due to its high band-width will enable augmented and virtual reality.” Another key topic was the significance of Light controls and user-friendly human interfaces as the end consumer seeks to be able to integrate additional functions such as colour controls or light distributions. Lighting planners are increasingly confronted with the complexities of data handling and digitalisation.

The opera stage saw eminent keynote speeches that guided the audience through the design process at prestigious design institutions.

Mark Ridler – Head of Lighting at BDP, an esteemed keynote speaker gave delegates an insight into his methodology behind the journey ́lighting an idea ́, “To have a central idea that drives the brief and the concept, and for human concerns of all the people that interact and intersect with your project, to understand their needs and concerns and to marry those two together, that then can be used as a lodestone that takes you throughout the entire design journey.” On the future of digitalisation: “It is about standardisation, at the moment it is very fragmented, designers, specifiers, clients and manufacturers are very uncertain as to which technological direction to go in. Until there is consensus on some of those platforms and protocols, we won ́t get the synergies and serendipity that will inevitably come. When it does come, there will be a whole explosion of new business ideas, use cases and lighting will then become truly connected.”

Exhibition

Keith Bradshaw, Principal at Speirs + Major on the event:
“These events remind us all of how much we still need to learn, the level of debate and conversation that happens in all of the side bars and during the keynotes is really educational, it ́s such a dynamic profession, bringing people together together to listen is really important.” Keith on challenges for the future of lighting, “The discussion about what people need from good lighting in terms of wellbeing has not kept up with the sophistication of the technology.”

“The results being that we tend now to be over lighting spaces. We need to keep challenging how much light we really need at different times of the day to get the best results for spaces and for people.” Echoing Keith ́s keynote presentation Sergei TChoban on day and night requirements: “I would like to see more flexibility, more possibilities with very small dimensions for facades and interiors to bring out the features by day and night.”

Ruairí O’Brien ́s workshop considered how architecture and planning can mix art with science to deliver new street lighting and public space lighting, a meaningful subject for the future. The discussions centred on the need to make public spaces more enjoyable and interactive, “A market square for example is a living room or a dining room for the public. We need more investment in our public spaces.”

A key highlight relished by delegates is the unique approach to the awards ceremony which launches with a cruise from the Opera House on Lake Constance to neighbouring Germany. Approximately 300 people hop off into a large contemporary restaurant curiously adorned with vintage sports cars to enjoy dinner and an awards presentation celebrating a variety of achievements.


TiL Award Winners 2019

The Trends in Lighting Awards celebrate the most outstanding creative, collaborative and innovative lighting applications across all industries and the implementation of cutting edge technologies.

Award Winners

Best Lighting Design Award Glass Technology GmbH – LightGlass
Best Lighting Solution Award Samsung Electronics – PixCell LED
Best Lighting Project Award Lumitronix

Best Startup Certificate Luximprint & Physionary

The objectives for TiL 2020 will be to continue to offer attendees the opportunity to explore the latest technologies and their application to lighting design in a forum that encourages exploration of potential and value. It is apparent the event organiser Luger Research e.U. has a clear ambition to create an environment to inspire expert debate to shape the future of the lighting industry.

Key Statistics
Visitors: 1,600 / 40+ countries
Exhibitors: 100
Lectures, Workshop, Panels: 100
Proceedings: 700 pages, full-paper documentation Awards: 7

Luger Research e.U. would like to give special thanks to the TiL event sponsors Bluetooth SIG,  Regent Lighting, Silvair, Trilux and Zumtobel Group
The annual LpS/TiL 2020 will take place in Bregenz, Austria September 22-24.


Photo credit: Matthias Rhomberg

 

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