President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Messe Frankfurt GmbH, Wolfgang Marzin, as well as representatives from the German Electrical and Electronics Industry Association (ZVEI): Christoph Hess, for the Lamps and Luminaires section, and Ingolf Jakobi, CEO of the German Association of the Electrical and IT Industry (ZVEH), were full of positive news about the development of the market and the forthcoming show. The 2012 edition of Light+Building is already promising to break all records when it comes to number of exhibitors and projected numbers of visitors. In 2010 Messe Frankfurt recorded more than 185,000 visitors. In the coming year they are looking at topping the 200,000 mark.

Wolfgang Marzin expressed his personal thanks to the German chancellor Angela Merkel for the support the lighting industry is benefitting from through the discussions on and around saving energy. To illustrate the innovative quality and enthusiasm with which the lighting industry is facing the future, Marzin drew a comparison with the automobile industry. For Mr. Marzin, and for the ZVEI association as the official representative of the German electrical and lighting industry, it is clear that the success of the next show will revolve around the latest advancements in LED technology and lighting controls. The lighting industry has regained energy efficiency and lighting technology as the unrivalled driving forces that will ensure growth.

This standpoint does not appear to align completely with the activities and efforts of Celma, the umbrella organisation for the European luminaire manufacturers’ associations, when it comes to the significance and achievement potential of the lighting industry. This is not without risk, of course. Confining the significance of light to energy issues only is comparable to adjusting the currency rating of light from AAA to B. All the work that has been done over the last few years on the impact of light on human beings is ignored to a certain extent. This is indicative of the building industry in general: planners from all disciplines are wallowing so deep in energy saving issues that they are practically losing sight of what architectural design is all about and ignoring the effect specific energy saving measures can have on building physics. At the same time, the revered European lighting industry – should they continue along these lines – will be risking making themselves interchangeable and leaving the door wide open for Asian competitors. Not a very healthy prospect in the medium term.

To a certain degree, reducing all argumentation to saving energy is questionable anyway. If this topic was so important for the fair authorities and their partners, then daylight design and its relevance for sustainability would surely figure in their nomenclature. This is not the case, however! It is not on their agenda. According to Wolfgang Marzin there are still empty halls available, but the fair organisers do not seem to have got their heads round the benefits of daylight design and technology in architecture. And the lighting industry is not doing much to help.

Lighting design does not appear to rate highly on the fair’s agenda either. Continuing education opportunities are back to focussing more on technology; in fact the entire education programme has been drastically “re-designed”. A conference on lighting design as part of Light+Building’s Building Performance Congress, as has been offered in the past, has been cut altogether. The official explanation according to Christoph Hess is that the exhibitors do not want visitors to the fair spending their time in conference rooms; they want to see them at the stands. That is why people go to a fair, as ZVEI clearly points out. Given the 185,000 visitors – or rather the 200,000 the show is aiming to attract – the odd 1000 (if that) who opt to attend seminars are not likely to make a serious difference to buying power! We are talking about 0.5% of the expected visitors to the show! Recent research findings and gaps in planners’ knowledge in relation to the complex tasks that lie ahead amount to far more than 0.5% of what they actually know! Education would appear to be a thorn in the flesh for the organisers of Light+Building. What they have come up with instead is a kind of meeting area on the show floor, an initiative organised by ZVEI and the fair, where technical developments are to be discussed in a “non-sales pitch” format.

Architects seem to have gone out of favour with the trade fair organisers as well. Representing ZVEI, Christoph Hess was heard to comment: “We don’t want to turn all architects into lighting designers”. The marketing for the fair this year has switched its focus away from architects and continuing education. Can it be that the industry wants to carry on merely serving architects without really wanting to throw more light on the effect of light?

To be frank, I don’t buy that at all. I believe – in fact I am convinced – that the lighting industry does indeed understand the importance of light, and is taking steps to develop the industry as a whole. The focus on energy saving has taken the wind out of the sails somewhat. The image the fair authorities are cultivating smacks of immense self-confidence. But even successful companies and projects should feel the urge to continue to develop when the going is good in order to be able to cope when times are rough.

What are hard to stomach are the hotel prices during Light+Building.  400 euros a night for a regular room is pretty much standard. I would guess that this might be the reason visitors to the show opt to leave a day earlier and that it is not a well designed conference that is keeping them from visiting stands.

Anyway: see you at Light+Building 2012.

ZVEI = German Electrical and Electronics Industry Association

ZVEH = German Association of the Electrical and IT Industry

Celma = Federation of National Manufacturers’ Associations for Luminaires and Electrotechnical Components for Luminaires in the European Union

PLDA = Professional Lighting Designers’ Association e.V.

For those seeking continuing education opportunities at Light+Building, the following website may be of interest to you. VIA is offering interactive seminars for professionals – not during the fair, but two days before the show opens.