LUCI Lab Bruges
PROGRAMME
LUCI Lab Bruges: local challenges, global dialogue, collective answers
For cities everywhere, the night poses urgent questions: how can we make streets feel safe and inclusive, reduce energy use, and still keep public spaces lively and welcoming? Lighting is at the heart of these choices, shaping atmosphere and identity, influencing how people feel safe or unsafe, and raising new responsibilities for climate and wellbeing.
Wednesday 5 November 2025
📍Venue: Bruges City Hall, Burg square, Stadhuis Brugge: Burg 12
Wednesday programme reserved to LUCI members. Registration required.
14:15 Registrations & Welcome
14:45 – 16:45 LUCI Lighting Masterplan Working Group Meeting
Join fellow LUCI cities for an in-depth exchange on Lighting Masterplans: how to maintain them, how to adapt them, and how to keep them alive over time.
- Moderator: Jasmine van der Pol, LUCI Senior Programme Manager
- Tony Meert, Head of Department for the City of Bruges
16:45 – 17:30 Setting the scene in Bruges
17:30 – 19:00 Reception hosted by the City of Bruges in Bruges City Hall
19:00 – 21:00 LUCI Welcome Dinner held by the City of Bruges in Crown Plaza Restaurant
📍Crown Plaza Bruges: Burg 10
21:00 Night visit of Bruges – walking tour (approx. 1hour)
- Edwin Thieren, Local Relationship Manager – Fluvius
- Peter Vandepitte, Head of Networks – Bruges and Central Cost Region – Fluvius
Experience the host city after dark. Expert guides will lead visits to emblematic public spaces, revealing how lighting shapes atmosphere, identity, and safety. Together, we will learn, observe, and share impressions of the night, making Bruges itself a living laboratory of urban lighting.
Thursday 6 November 2025
📍Venue: BMCC – Bruges Meeting and Convention Centre: Sint-Maartensbilk 1
Registration required to participate in the programme.
09:00 – 09:30 Registrations & Coffee – BMCC Floor 3
09:30 – 11:00 LUCI Lab Sessions: Urban Lighting in Bruges
LUCI members and Flemish central cities are invited to discover Bruges’ vision of urban lighting in a series of focused presentations and discussions. These exclusive moments will let you experience Bruges not just as a host city, but as a living laboratory of how light can balance heritage, safety, and innovation.
Urban lighting in Bruges: lighting history, past & new lighting masterplans, Bruges’ Lantern
- Tony Meert, Head of Department – City of Bruges
- Christophe De Vos, Area Sales Manager – Schréder
- Edwin Thieren, Local Relationship Manager – Fluvius
- Peter Vandepitte, Head of Networks – Bruges and Central Cost Region – Fluvius
CCTV and safety perspectives
- Lieven Duyck, Advisor – Local Police Bruges
Spotlight on the station surroundings
- Jurgen De Meyere, Public Space Designer – Public Domain Design Dptmt City of Bruges
- Bart Slabbinck, Mobility Project Coordinator – City of Bruges
11:00 – 11:15 Short break
11:15 – 12:00 Keynote: Light in the City – BMCC Floor 1: Auditorium
- Luc Schuiten, Architect – Vegetal City
Luc Schuiten approaches lighting through the lens of ecological sustainability and carbon neutrality, seeking to enhance both the natural and cultural environment.
He invites us to consider a more measured use of night-time lighting, preserving mystery and atmosphere rather than pursuing the artificial brightness of daylight. Drawing inspiration from the bioluminescence of deep-sea life, Schuiten imagines a future where cities illuminate themselves more naturally, harmoniously, and poetically.
12:00 – 13:00 Networking lunch – BMCC Floor 1: Foyer
13:00 – 13:05 Afternoon welcome and introduction to the Afternoon Lab Sessions
- Veronique Janssens, General Director – VVSG, Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities
13:05 – 13:45 Keynote: Social security and urban spaces
- Prof. Mattias De Backer, Research Professor – Department of Criminology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
13:45 – 14:05 Introduction to the VVSG and the LUCI networks
- Patrick Dellaert, Senior Key Account Manager – VVSG, Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities
- Jasmine van der Pol, Senior Programme Manager – LUCI
14:15 – 16:00 Afternoon Lab Sessions (reserved to LUCI members and VVSG members) – BMCC Floor 3: Meeting rooms 2/ 7/ 8/
Choose 2 out of 3 sessions upon registration. Follow the session colour by order on your badge!
How can lighting enhance the feeling of safety without simply adding “more light”? This session explores inclusive approaches, inspired by research and urban practices, to design nighttime spaces that are welcoming and reassuring, especially for vulnerable groups. Join the dialogue to rethink how light, atmosphere, and trust can create safer and more pleasant public environments.
- Els De Vos, Engineering architect and spatial planner. Professor – Faculty of Design Sciences, University of Antwerp
How can cities integrate circularity step by step into policy and practice? This session presents strategies to embed sustainability in governance, from reducing waste to smart energy management. Participants will discuss how circular approaches in lighting can support climate goals while improving urban quality of life for communities.
- Elke De Taeye, Circular Economy Coordinator -VVSG
- Els Fonteyne, Circular Economy Expert – Agoria
- Jan Arts, Head of Ligthing Technology Unit – Fluvius
How can lighting be fully integrated into urban spatial planning processes? This session focuses on successful strategies and practical mechanisms that connect lighting with mobility, heritage, inclusion, and sustainability policies. Participants will share and learn from approaches that make lighting a cross-cutting driver of urban development, helping create cities that are more coherent, inclusive, and liveable after dark.
- Xavier Buijs, Policy Officer for Spatial Planning – VVSG
- Tony Meert, Head of Department – City of Bruges
- Joost Cuvelier, Relationship Manager – Fluvius
16:00 – 16:30 Coffee Break
16:30 – 17:30 Urban Lighting in Flanders – facilitated by Fluvius
- Dirk De fauw, Mayor of Bruges
- Kristof Pillaert, Mayor of Hooglede
- Pieter Marechal, Alderman for Patrimony, representative of Facility Management Department, and representative of Heritage Bruges
17:30 – 18:30 Night visit of Bruges – walking tour (in English)
- Barbara Van den Broeck, Lighting Designer and Consultant – Spectrum
Experience the host city after dark. Expert guides will lead visits to emblematic public spaces, revealing how lighting shapes atmosphere, identity, and safety. Together, we will learn, observe, and share impressions of the night, making Bruges itself a living laboratory of urban lighting.
18:30 – 20:00 Evening reception – hosted by Fluvius
Friday 7 November 2025
📍Venue: Brugse Vrije, Burg 11a
Friday programme reserved to LUCI members. Registration required.
09:00 – 09:30 Registrations & Coffee
09:30 – 11:30 LUCI Network meeting
Lighting for UNESCO heritage sites. The role of light in shaping atmosphere and city identity.
Debrief and reflect on what you’ve experienced during the Lab and offer constructive feedback on the Bruges current lighting strategy.
Share challenges and solutions for your own city, let us know your reflections and what you will be bringing back “home” with you.
Shape new collaborations with other city peers.
- Moderator: Jasmine van der Pol, LUCI Senior Programme Manager
- Tony Meert, Head of Department for the City of Bruges
11:30 – 12:30 Historical tour of Bruges by boat (optional)
Photo credits
©Visit Bruges, Jan Darthet; ©City of Montpellier; ©Rami Saarikorpi; ©Femke den Hollander