Light+Building

Eva Persson, lighting designer, Ljusarkitektur, Stockholm Bio: Persson joined Ljusarkitektur in 2000 and has worked on a variety of projects including Nordic Walk, a light and sound installation at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, and the House of Sweden, the new Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C., completed in 2006. Persson studied interior design at the School of Design and Crafts in Gothenburg, Sweden, and received her lighting degree from Gothenburg University.

Impressions of Light+Building: This year it was all about LEDs—from the most technical lighting manufactures to decorative lighting companies such as Catellani & Smith. The development of LED light sources is starting to feel very promising, particularly with the introduction of remote phosphor solutions, which seem to offer better color rendering—as high as a CRI of 95. The question, though, is: Will the light quality and color temperature remain stable over time?

However, LEDs are not the solution for everything. At the moment it appears that manufacturers are adapting existing luminaires to the LED source rather than thinking about how to adapt the housing and fixture body to the form of the LED. I hope this will not be a long-term trend. For example, most LED downlights are very glary. Manufacturers should give more consideration to better glare shields. LEDs are a promising light source, but we should use them to the best of their potential, maximizing a diode’s inherent capabilities and characteristics.

Overall, my impression of this year’s fair was not about a specific new product, per se, but rather more a feeling that we are at the beginning of a larger change in the types of light sources we use and the applications for them. In a few instances, manufacturers such as Zumtobel and Colt showed lighting solutions integrated into buildings using daylight as the light source and capitalizing on solar for producing the building’s energy. With the Icelandic volcano and the suspension of air travel for a week, we all received a clear reminder that we have to better adapt to nature. And we should carry these ideas further in developing lighting design and the lighting industry as well.