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Over 190 participants in LUCI Annual General Meeting 2015 in Helsinki

Over 190 participants from around the world came together to discuss urban lighting at the LUCI Annual General Meeting 2015 in Helsinki, Finland.

 

Key event of the LUCI calendar and a unique international forum for cities on urban lighting, the LUCI Annual General Meeting took place from 23 to 27 September 2015 gathering 32 municipalities.

The event brought together municipal lighting technicians, managers, urban planners, lighting designers, architects and other lighting professionals to discuss urban lighting trends and issues such as lighting master plans, light pollution, intelligent lighting management systems and protocols, light art and events.

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Participants discovered, through the example of the City of Helsinki, how a comprehensive and multi-faceted lighting strategy can contribute to the overall development of a city. A city in expansion, Helsinki has a lighting network that grows by 1000 light points a year and a lighting master plan flexible enough to incorporate new urban developments. The city, which presented its new city-wide smart lighting control system, has decided to use only LED for street lighting in the future. This is complemented by a new focus on architectural lighting with new lighting projects in development such as the Helsinki Senate square, and the ambitious plans for what will undoubtedly be the world’s first neighbourhood of light art – Kruunuvuorenranta – already home to the award-winning Silo 468.

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Night walks in the city centre and along the popular bicycle path Baana featuring temporary light art installations, ensured that participants had the opportunity to experience the technical lighting choices made by the city and their impact, in person.

In a keynote presentation marking the International Year of Light, Professor Liisa Halonen, Leader of the Lighting Unit, at Aalto University, addressed the possibilities and benefits of LED outdoor lighting and smart control specifically in terms of performance, cost and environment.

An eye-opening presentation on light pollution was also made by Dr. Jari Lyytimäki, a senior researcher at the Environmental Policy Centre of the Finnish Environment Institute. He pointed out that bright lights come with a price and spoke about the negative effects of lighting on the environment, human health and society. He also presented key results from a national survey charting public perceptions of light pollution and emphasized the need for showcasing best practices in minimizing light pollution.

The General Assembly, a key moment for LUCI members to discuss the network’s actions and perspectives, saw the presentation of LUCI activities in the past year, including updates on the work of the LUCI commissions (Light & Art, Innovation, International Solidarity). It was also the occasion to welcome the new LUCI members present in Helsinki – the City of Oulu (Finland) and new supporting associated member Osram – to the network.

With the objective of giving the floor to new lighting initiatives from all over the world, the Open Conference sessions featured lighting projects from Budapest, Busan, Ghent, Paris, Rotterdam, Seoul, Toulouse and more.  Some of the major issues that stood out involved discussions on lighting masterplans (with several cities in the process of drafting or redrafting their own), smart lighting protocols and compatibility issues, as well as public-private stakeholder cooperation in respecting the city nightscape and light plan.

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The event came to an end with the annual city.people.light award ceremony which announced the winning cities of the 13th edition of this international award on urban lighting organised by Philips and LUCI. The City of Avila (Spain) won the first prize with Valenciennes (France) and Baia Mare (Romania) winning the second and third prizes respectively, and Melilla (Spain) winning the People Choice award. Representatives from all four cities collected their prizes during the c.p.l. award ceremony and gala dinner. The cities of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Taipei (Taiwan) both received special mentions.

Click here to see some photos from the LUCI AGM

LUCI members can access the presentations made during the conferences in the LUCI Members Area

Access the archived event pages for more information on the programme and speakers.

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