LUCI Annual General Meeting Helsinki
– Highlights
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.
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.
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.
The cities of Oulu, Lyon and Turin came to the LAiPS conference with a set of questions for the delegates. The 2-hour IDEATHON interactive session on the second day was the opportunity for participants to come together and work through ideas and suggest solutions to the cities’ questions.
Oulu asked the question: “How can we realise the vision of the light artist given the technical and political challenges of lighting a city landmark?” and the IDEATHON explored possible solutions relating to a new light art school that was oriented around the work and interests of young people in the city.
Lyon tasked their group to answer the question: “How can we ensure the long-term maintenance of light art in our cities?” and the solutions were found in a proper approach to governance in which the city took ownership and responsibility for maintenance according to a specific timeframe determined early on with the collaboration of artists, community and commercial stakeholders.
Participants at the Turin table considered the question: “How can light art make a positive social impact in our cities?” The group concluded that it is most important for a city to be loved and this affection can be expressed through light art by using people’s streets, homes and windows rather than isolated spectacular events.
Watch or re-watch the conference
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Event pictures
We are happy to share some photos from the conference. You can access them here.
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Photo credits
© Juhana Konttinen ; © LUCI Association