23. February 2018
There is a lot going on in the areas of lighting and building services technology. The Light + Building trade fair will again present many innovations in mid-March. (photo: Pietro Sutera / Messe Frankfurt)
Finally, it's time again: The Light + Building trade fair will open its gates from 18 to 23 March 2018. This time it has in store: the trade fair motto "Connected - Secure - Convenient". The world's leading trade fair for lighting and building services technology thus alludes not least to the ever-present digitization in the building industry, including all the questions that are associated with this major topic. Of course, the Luminale - Biennial for Light Art and Urban Design is not missing, this year with a completely new format.
Trade fair: Light + Building (Frankfurt / Main, DE) | date: 18 to 23 March 2018 | in parallel: Luminale – Biennal for Light Art and Urban Design (Frankfurt / Main and Offenbach, DE)
Interview with Professor Andreas Schulz, Licht Kunst Licht AG, Bonn/Berlin and direct link to the registration for World-Architects Guided Tours: www.world-architects.com/en/pages/lightandbuilding-2018-frankfurt-am-main-march-18-to-23
This year, the world of light and building services technology will once again meet up in Frankfurt on the Main. From 18 to 23 March, it is about presenting and discovering the latest developments in two of the fields where enormous things have been happening in the construction industry for some years now. The "Light + Building" brings them both together and seeks a congenial alliance - which is increasingly easier to find with every edition of the world's leading trade fair. The ever-present keyword of the moment is: digitization, or to be more precise, a rather young history, but one that has brought about profound changes and will continue to do so. As a reminder: e-mails began to change communication about 20 years ago, and with the first iPhone some 10 years ago (in January 2007) the world wide web became mobile. Since then, the digital world has been advancing ever further into our life and changing it fundamentally - a development that is now also gaining momentum in the construction industry.
Smart home, smart building, smart city: in the future, buildings must not only be sustainable but also smart. Manufacturers and planners alike have been working and developing increasingly sophisticated technologies for years. Although linking all the components in the smart grid continues to be a challenge, manufacturers who have always felt best when going their own way are beginning to understand that there is no way forward without a common language. Keyword: interfaces. In the future, all - and this really means all - components in a building will (have to) be connected with one another in a comprehensive building system. Whether heating, ventilation, lighting, solar systems or ice storage: energy flows will be controlled in the future to really give all these efficient and good devices a deeper meaning in this smart world.
The digital world is increasingly becoming a natural part of life and work. In the photo: Top issue "Smartification of everyday life". (photo: Messe Frankfurt)
The intelligent building
"Smartification of everyday life" is therefore one of the prevailing themes at this year's Light + Building, whereby "everyday life" can mean anything that works on a digital basis: every sphere of life, every device and every activity. Thus, visitors to the trade fair can be sure that they will frequently encounter this topic in the exhibition halls. However, visitors should always take a critical look at what they are shown. After all, especially in the building industry, digitization leads to direct questions that (still) urgently need to be answered. The most frequently asked question is about security. The exhibition company has also recognized this fact and thus given this year's Light + Building the motto of "Connected - Secure - Convenient", which quite accurately expresses what is currently moving people and thus the industry. The integration of various security systems such as video surveillance or access control, their connection and integration into technical building automation are essential aspects which interest both the industry and users on their way to achieving greater convenience.
All this - home and building automation as well as current-controlled security technology - is for the first time assigned to a dedicated contact point this year: in Hall 9.1, visitors will be given a comprehensive overview of the entire spectrum of home and building automation and electrical security technology. The new hall level will be enriched with the special show "SECURE! Connected Security in Buildings" and the Intersec Forum, the annual conference for connected security technology, which will take place in parallel on five days from 19 to 23 March 2018. Trade visitors will find the range of energy-efficient building systems solutions, electrical installation and building infrastructure in Hall 8.0. In Hall 11.0, everything revolves around electrical installation and network technology. Those who are primarily interested in design will be in good hands in Hall 11.1, where design-oriented electrical installations and building systems technology will be presented.
Individual comfort, good design and high-quality light are combined under the top theme of "Aesthetics and well-being in harmony". (photo: Messe Frankfurt)
A matter of quality
The trade fair has identified "Aesthetics and wellbeing in harmony" as the second top theme which, in principle, represents the "Light" product area, with the latest design trends in the luminaire market and the exhibitors' high level of design competence. The digitization of light has also paved the way for a new form of lighting design that focuses on people and their personal needs. This is reflected not least in the increasing importance of Human Centric Lighting (HCL), which deals with the effects of light on people and their health, performance and well-being. This is highly topical: at the end of 2017, the Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded to the three US researchers Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young. By isolating and researching the gene "period" of fruit flies, they succeeded in demonstrating the "internal clock" that controls the day-night rhythm of humans, animals and plants. In the case of humans, the biological rhythm is largely determined by the course of sunlight: the relatively blue sunlight of the morning blocks the hormone melatonin and stimulates the stress hormone cortisol. This leads to increased alertness, concentration and a feeling of general fitness. An effect that is reversed in the warm evening light.
Anyway, as far as the subject of "light" is concerned, we are currently living in an extraordinary phase. LED technology makes it possible to create any desired light. At this year's Light + Building, it will therefore be one of the central issues, which lighting quality a manufacturer can provide with his luminaires. Because that's what we learned with LEDs at the latest: no light is like another. Apart from mere brightness and distribution, color reproduction is the most important factor. The differences in the LED market are still quite considerable. This makes it all the more exciting to see who will have the edge on this topic. We recommend that you always have an apple or other fruit with you to test its appearance in the light of the LED.
The Festhalle will again be hosting three of the major players in the industry (Osram, Zumtobel and Levance), while Philips will again present itself in the forum in front of it. (photo: Pietro Sutera / Messe Frankfurt)
The supporting program - something for everyone
A novelty at Light + Building 2018 is the revised structure of the supporting program. The subdivision into the categories Emotion, Skills, Career and Selection is intended to facilitate orientation according to areas of interest and participation in the supporting program according to the respective objectives of the visit. The category Emotion @ Light + Building includes special shows and exhibitions, which make it possible to actively experience the technical input. Skills @ Light + Building brings together all the continuing education and development activities offered at Light + Building. Career @ Light + Building focuses on the promotion of young talent. Selection @ Light + Building bundles projects that make it easier for visitors to gain a concentrated overview. Guided tours, competitions and award ceremonies offer insights into the exhibitors' comprehensive range of products and services, pre-sorted by theme or objective criteria.
Once again this year, the World-Architects Guided Tours lead participants to selected manufacturers and products. (photo: Mathias Duerr / World-Architects)
Visiting the trade fair with competence: World-Architects Guided Tours
Of course, the Guided Tours by World-Architects will again be offered this year, so that trade visitors can safely make their way through the trade fair jungle. On 10 tours, 12 guides will provide a competent overview of the really important issues in the industry. For around two hours, architects, interior designers, lighting designers and trade journalists will guide you through the exhibition halls, always with special attention to products, manufacturers as well as stand architecture. Representatives at the trade fair stands are asked critical questions, and subsequent discussions in the group are not only possible but welcome. That's all you need: from Sunday to Thursday there are two tours per day, guided by our experts in lighting design and architecture.
Sunday, 18 March 2018: Tours + Talks
#01 Ulrike Brandi (Ulrike Brandi Licht, Hamburg) "Two Concert Halls and a Castle"
#02 Thomas Mika (Reflexion AG, Zurich) "Changes, Trends, Strategies"
Monday, 19 March 2018:
#03 Carla Wilkins (Lichtvision Design, Berlin) "Design Intelligence"
#04 Wilfried Kramb (a·g Licht, Bonn) "Frankfurt Selection"
Tuesday, 20 March 2018:
#05 Rafael Gallego (Aureolighting, Madrid) "LEDs: Quality of light first! "
#06 Prof. Michael F. Rohde (L-Plan Lighting Design, Berlin) "LEDs – Inspired by Sunlight"
Wednesday, 21 March 2018:
#07 Michael and Iris Podgorschek (podpod design, Vienna) "In the Paradise of Light"
#08 Daniel Tschudy (Bartenbach, Zurich) "Spatial effect and space dramaturgy due to hidden lighting fixtures"
Thursday, 22 March 2018:
#09 Birgit Walter (BMLD, Barcelona) "Light & Darkness"
#10 Thomas Geuder & Martina Metzner (specialized journalists) „Highlights“
Meeting point of all free Guided Tours is the Outlook Lounge: in the staircase in front of Hall 4, top level. Registration at: https://www.world-architects.com/en/pages/lightandbuilding-2018-frankfurt-am-main-march-18-to-23
Multiple registrations are of course possible!
Exploring the Luminale in the Light + Building evening: this is best done with the free Guided Tours of World-Architects. (photo: Mathias Duerr / World-Architects)
Light, art and culture in the evening: free Luminale Guided Tours
A trade fair day without the Luminale in the evening would only be worth half! This year, however, the ninth Biennial for Light Art and Urban Design will present itself in a completely revised form and with a new organizing team. Around 140 projects will be featured in Frankfurt and Offenbach, divided into five festival categories: Art, Community, Study, Solutions and Better City. This classification already indicates clearly: in the future, Luminale will not only present light art, but also want to use the presence of experts from Germany and abroad as an occasion for an interdisciplinary discourse on the city and its future, including social, social, ecological, technological and artistic aspects. Important impulses for a modern and sustainable urban design are to be set. The patron of Luminale, Frankfurt's Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann, is convinced: "The optimized concept has given the festival a new quality. Luminale 2018 combines lasting artistic staging, technological development and meaningful social objectives and sharpens the profile of our city as a pioneer of modern urban development."
We will take a closer look at this, with the critically selected Luminale Guided Tours, which will this time start right in front of the Maritim Hotel Frankfurt.
The Guided Tours @ Luminale take place from 18 to 22 March and always start at 8:00 p.m. at the meeting point Maritim Hotel Frankfurt, Theodor-Heuss-Allee 3 (bus stop)
Registration at: www.world-architects.com/en/pages/lightandbuilding-2018-frankfurt-am-main-march-18-to-23
The good old light bulb with real tungsten wire will be rarely seen at Light + Building. (photo: Petra Welzel / Messe Frankfurt)
Portable light was still a novelty in 2016, but in 2018 there will be several manufacturers who equip their luminaires with rechargeable batteries. (photo: Mathias Duerr / World-Architects)
The "smart home" and along with it digitalization has long arrived in the industry and is one of the most important topics this year. (photo: Jens Liebchen / Messe Frankfurt)
It is questionable whether the development of OLEDs will make an important step forward in the field of artificial light planning, since the same effects can be achieved with LEDs at lower cost. (photo: Mathias Duerr / World-Architects)
There are already approaches for supporting building planning with virtual reality. It remains to be seen which manufacturers will attend to this topic. (photo: Jean-Luc Valentin / Messe Frankfurt)
The walk to Hall 11 is worthwhile as design-oriented electrical installations and building systems technology will be presented here. (photo: Jens Liebchen / Messe Frankfurt)
With the Römer, the Alte Oper, the European Central Bank, St. Catherine's Church and the Iron Bridge, five of Frankfurt's most important sightseeing attractions become a place of artistic exploration of light and the city. In the picture: Viennese artist Victoria Coeln at St. Catherine's Church. (photo: Victoria Coeln, Katharinen Passion, Luminale 2018)
Universities also contribute to Luminale. In the photo: TU Munich with Urban Climate Canopy, which will be on display at the Hauptwache. (photo: TU Munich, Urban Climate Canopy, Luminale 2018)
