Conference and Workshop

Concomitantly with the 24th edition of Euroluce, and once again in partnership with the European Lighting Designers’ Association, Elda+ – the top sectorial body at European level – a full and stimulating programme of parallel initiatives has been organised, devised as a direct homage to light.

Light and Experience
19th-20th April 2007
Conference Centre, Rooms Libra and Sagittarius
10.00am to 6.00 pm

The purpose of this conference – Elda+ Light Focus – is to bring together lighting designers, invited from all over the world by European Lighting Designers’ Association, Elda+. It will be an opportunity for professional lighting designers, lighting engineers and anybody whose job it is to create light to broaden their horizons, providing a forum for discussion and the sharing of ideas. 

The input of an expert lighting designer is crucial for the inception and realisation of any project involving the creation of a “real lighting experience”.

“Experience”, taken to mean both knowledge and practice, is in fact the leitmotif of the series of suggested topics: from the restaurant experience to the museum experience, from the learning experience to that of well-being, to urban experience.

The Restaurant Experience
Restaurants are not just places where people eat. They can also provide the venue for business meetings, romantic trysts or formal events and galas. Clearly, food has a key role, but if the environment – the space – fails to create or communicate the right feeling, the patrons will probably never go back. Lighting – soft, dynamic, discreet, vibrant – can turn the restaurant experience into an event worth remembering and repeating.

The Museum Experience
Dusty, boring museums are a thing of the past. Modern-day museums aim to give visitors – and especially children – a lively learning experience that will stay with them. Interactive installations and spatial settings that further the understanding of an historical situation or an industrial process need the hand of a professional lighting designer, as does the display of light-sensitive materials and documents.

The Learning Experience
Classroom, libraries, lecture halls – all places where people of various ages gather to learn. When we learn we open our minds to new information, focus on the analysis of data and/or the presentation of the educator. If the space is bright and friendly, if there is daylight available and an outside view, if we can see, read and perform all necessary visual tasks comfortably, the learning experience is likely to be a successful one.

The Well-Being Experience
Health and well-being are not only the buzz words of the day, they are becoming an integral part of many people's lives. Workplaces such as offices and industrial plants often confine us to indoor spaces for long periods of time. When we seek sources of relaxation and regeneration it is because we want to give back to our bodies and souls what the day takes out. The lighting of sports and spa facilities can make or break the well-being experience. Well-being affects our emotions – and so does light.

The Urban Experience
Cities are growing and attracting increasing numbers of inhabitants and visitors, and modern-day society is geared to a 24-hour day. People not only live and work in towns, they also spend their leisure time in an urban environment. Streets should be clear and safe, and the urban experience pleasant at least. Some cities have learnt that lighting is an important and integral part of the overall urban concept. In some towns the lighting is awe-inspiring or spectacular, in others discreet and dim. In towns with good urban lighting, people are proud of where they live. Lighting masterplans are becoming more popular because they promote coordinated professional lighting design.

The Lighting Design Experience
22nd April 2007
From 10am – 1pm and 2 – 5pm
Conference Centre, venue to be confirmed

A mini-workshop focussing on the role of light in interior design. Conceived especially with architects in mind, particularly those who are fairly new to the lighting design experience.
The participants will be introduced to the process of planning lighting design and to the possibilities available to them in terms of lighting equipment, they will have a chance to experiment with light and learn about light sources, colour temperature, beam angles and luminous intensity. At the end of the session, the participants will be given feedback which will cover their approach to the task, down to how they achieved their results.

The workshop has many different objectives, starting with a demonstration – involving a hands-on session – of how light can be controlled and manipulated in order to create specific atmospheres or situations, the ultimate goal of which is to arouse greater interest in lighting design and to demonstrate the value of working with a professional lighting designer.  Another equally important objective is to teach participants that there is no limit to what light can create visually, and to illustrate the basic facts about the technologies employed.
 
The workshop takes the form of a series of practical exercises, which will ideally take place in a series of separate dark spaces, in which the participants will be able to experiment with the power of light and will be encouraged to think in terms of light. Some of the exercises envisaged will involve recreating a painting, creating a specific atmosphere such as a sunrise, for example, producing a light show inspired by a particular piece of music and visualising a text.

A fee, yet to be established, will be payable for attending the Workshop.