Attending Light+Building For The First Time

“It’s huge.” “Bring comfortable shoes.”  “You’ll be amazed.”  "You have no idea."

Impressions

My colleagues said all of these to me months before Light+Building 2016.  I believed my feet would hurt, as they often do at tradeshows.  And I believed that I would be amazed by some of the booths and exhibits because lighting is constantly evolving.

What I was not entirely prepared for was the enormity of the event.  Yes, Messe Frankfurt is a beast of a facility.  Hall after hall filled with booths, exhibits, stairs, escalators, and mini-markets where each turn brings something new.  But what excited me the most was the magnitude of enthusiasm that visitors had, the sheer amount and variety of people who attended, and the scale of some of the booths.   

And those exhibits in Hall 3?  Enough said!

In our booth alone, we had visits from customers, friends and strangers from six continents asking questions about how we could help them solve their wide-ranging business problems.  We had lively discussions about the Internet of Things, and the “digital – individual – networked” theme, which was crafted by the Light+Building event.  Most folks seemed quite optimistic about what's to come!

I was very happily surprised with how generous attendees were with the time they took to discuss what they work on, the issues that keep them up at night, and how we can all work together to address these issues.  Being newer to the lighting industry, these conversations were a valuable source of education for me.  

One of the most interesting elements that I noticed throughout the week was the amount of warm, amber lights.  At times, my eyeballs felt like they were sizzling after looking at so many cool light sources, beams and patterns.  So, when I came upon a warmer installation, it was quite calming and appealing.  Or maybe it was just a feeling of nostalgia these amber lights evoked, making me slow down and appreciate everything I was seeing and learning.

Luminale

One of the most charming elements of the week was the Luminale.  What a joyful experience it was to walk around the city and meet other Light+Building attendees and local families, all roaming the city and engaging with the various installations to understand the relationship of lighting to the city.  According to Light+Building, “the ‘urban lighting laboratory’ attracted almost 200,000 people.”  I was lucky enough to see the Dream Room (number 8 on this slideshow) with its integration of music.  The sound bouncing off the walls of the Alte Nikolaikirche at Römer, along with the fluidity of the light, made the exhibit very evocative.

I also saw the Man on the Moon and the Symbols of Europe on the European Central Bank buildings (numbers 9 and 10 on the slideshow.) 

Shout Out

I can’t finish this blog without mentioning the topics that Bridgelux announced since they were the source of many of my conversations:

• Market Leading Efficacy CoB with 155 lm/W performance
• Debut of hybrid smart lighting/IoT platform for commercial spaces, Xenio™, and the initial product that is commercially available called Xenio™ Point

And I have to give props to my colleagues who were interviewed for this video by LEDbogen discussing trends and innovation.  Many great companies were interviewed in this video discussing opinions on the latest trends in the LED industry so we were thrilled to be included.

until next time

As I sat jotting down my thoughts for this blog, I came across this jargon-buster from Lux Review, which reminds us that working a six-day event means you’re in it for the long haul and a little levity goes a long way.  And to those of you who heard me say, “I’ll just get the technical manager,” I was honestly was looking for the technical expert and not to get away from an unfortunate odor situation.

I greatly appreciate the opportunity I had to attend Light+Building 2016.  It was one of the most remarkable professional experiences in which I’ve been involved.  If you have the chance to attend in 2018, I'd definitely recommend it!