The 2nd PLDC was an overwhelming success. Congratulations to Joachim Ritter and his team of women who guided an extremely complex organising machine. Everything (or almost everything) worked well, and the ‘almost’ should be interpreted as the obvious fact that nothing in this world is perfect. Without taking into consideration the official figures, the growth rate of participation and the level of interest could be assessed by simply going to the Pullman Schweizerhof Hotel on any of the four days of the Berlin convention. The impression was that there was a change in the type of visitors since the London event, with a significant increase, in absolute and percentage terms, in the number of students and under 30s and an increase in people from outside Europe, especially from Asia. This last aspect, moreover, is consistent with the identity that the PLDA – one of the main partners of the event – is assuming with respect to the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), which has the highest number of members in America.
Level of satisfaction. The empirical sensation was that the presentations were very well received, with the exception of a couple of presentations dedicated to light and healthcare or light and wellbeing that were considered out of context. Some people ‘grumbled’ about the invasive presence of sponsors, without whom, in any case, the event would not have been possible. So what did this presumed invasiveness consist of? It consisted of the name given to the halls where the various presentations took place, some logos printed on the programme and some stands set-up between the hall and the first floor of the hotel. The convention certainly was a little bit crowded – there was more space in London – but everything depends on finding greater balance between the number of companies who want their own info-point in the Convention venue and the surfaces that can be designated for this purpose. More understandable was the criticism expressed by some lighting designers on the participation costs. The problem was not so much the amount paid to take part in all four days or only one day of the Convention, but rather there was no possibility to attend one lecture – because there was no time and/or interest to follow more of them – and paying only for that.
Now let us discuss the numerous positive aspects of this year’s PLDC. Applause must go to all the speakers who knew how to involve the public by placing special attention not only on the contents of their presentation, which of course is the priority, but also on the way they were communicated. You may have created the most beautiful lighting design of all time, but if you don’t know how to communicate this design, then you have failed. An excellent example of this was the packed presentation by Jonathan Speirs, Marc Major and Keith Bradshaw (United Kingdom), who discussed their lighting projects for St Paul’s Cathedral and the Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi: all three were ‘terribly’ brilliant, not only for the quality of their work – only one of these two multi-prize winning and multi-published projects is enough to give meaning to an entire career – but for the effective way they recited the part. Certainly, this ideal is difficult to achieve, and yet it can be done with talent, the right means and luck.
From a certain perspective, Jöran Linder and Erik Ollson (Sweden) did even better. Their presentation at the round table of the City Planners’ Forum chaired by Martin Lupton (United Kingdom) transformed itself into a real ‘happening’ experience. The theme was a potentially ‘boring’ one: the responsibility of the designer towards the public and environment, among social identity and energy issues. The performance however was perfect, with Jöran playing the matador and Erik his sidekick. If you would like to know more, you can read the article in the Home Page, which also contains a copy of their presentation downloadable in PDF format.
The presentations that convinced us the most were those focusing on the practical aspects of the profession. Two of them in all, to which have been dedicated two articles of this special: Kai Piippo (Sweden), with his advices on how to work as a lighting designer and how to be successful, and Anne Bureau (France), who discussed the classic procedure of the project (from the first meeting with the client to the delivery of the final product) as if it was a game of snakes and ladders.
The presentation by Maurice Asso (Lebanon) was also along these same lines and dealt with the theme of client psychology: the substantially ‘illiterate’ client, i.e. without any notion of lighting-technique; the prepared client, more difficult but also more stimulating; and the ‘commercial’ client, who knows all about the economic aspects of the project, but is not interested in any other aspects. His summary on what to do and what not to do was very effective. “Keep your eyes and ears open when talking to the client, so you can get an idea their tastes and desires, because listening and observation are key elements for every psychological practice.” Moreover, “don’t get mixed up in projects with an unlimited budget, because they don’t exist!” We appreciated the clarity and honesty of the historical presentation by Tapio Rosenius (Spain) who discussed the origins and characteristics of the professional associations. What defines a profession, including that of a lighting designer? In the first place, knowledge, whether coming from theoretical studies or on-field studies; credibility, a logical consequence of the aforesaid competences; formal association, founded on selection by merit, on the independence of the members and on a shared code of self-regulation; on the public interest that the professional should ideally pursue, staying neutral with respect to the plurality of the players. These principles are the same as those considered by the twenty or so professional associations that existed in the world towards the middle of the 19th century. “Therefore, are we building our profession on outdated principles?”, asks Tapio. “Should our associations aim at ‘imposing’ the profession in areas where it is still not present or rather occupy themselves in protecting its authentic interpreters?” These ideas are open to discussion and we promise to return to them.
The presentation by Iain Ruxton (United Kingdom) on the current and potential uses of OLED was very interesting and useful. There is still a lot of confusion on what the new ‘sources’ are and why they are needed. Iain certainly clarified this topic without delving too much into the technical and commercial aspects. For those interested, a summary of his presentation from the Convention can be found in the Home Page. In this sense, mention should be given to the presentation by Enrique Peiniger and Jean Sundin (USA), winners of the international competition for New York streetlights. What we expected was an illustration on the guidelines of the project which innovatively took advantage of LED technology. Instead, the presentation mainly focused on the devices developed by the two American designers with the LSGC Company, which was also responsible for their production. It was a legitimate choice because the innovative nature of the project submitted to the City of New York depended largely on the choice of the sources which at the time of the competition represented a new frontier in lighting design. Nevertheless, our idea of a case study is different, perhaps a bit snobbish, but for the most part not focusing on the role played by the commercial partners in the project. The presentation by Alfred Borden and Paul Levy (USA) comes close to this notion. It dealt with the case of Philadelphia and the way in which lighting contributes to urban development. At the centre of the presentation was the axis of Benjamin Franklin Parkway, a real cultural district that runs from the Philadelphia Art Museum to City Hall.
Two final mentions must go to Bruno Demeester (Belgium), author of a presentation on lighting and sustainability to which is dedicated a specific article – and Vincent Laganier and Jasmine van der Pol (France), editors of a beautiful publication on the aesthetic and emotional aspects of light. The book, financed entirely by Philips, is the result of research conducted in the form of interviews. A series of targeted questions were asked to 47 lighting designers from all over the world, many of them members of professional associations such as IALD and PLDA. The resulting scenario was very mixed, the answers were original and... ‘illuminating.’ The lighting designers, above all, come out of it more human and more approachable, even to those who only know this profession by hearsay.
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