Light Symposium. Connecting health research with lighting practice

Zielinska-Dabkowska, Karolina

Light Symposium. Connecting health research with lighting practice

Abstract

Thanks to state-of-the-art medical and environmental research, our current understanding about the impact of light and lighting is improving at a rapid rate. While the evolution of lighting technologies offers promising design possibilities, it also poses new challenges to planners and the general public. This is further complicated by the fact that today’s modern indoor lifestyle means we can be completely disconnected from nature and natural light. Instead, we live under artificial skies in man-made environments. To answer the need for cross-disciplinary talks and in order to bridge the knowledge gaps in the field of architectural lighting design, in 2007, the concept of a Light Symposium emerged at the Professional Lighting Designers Convention (PLDC) in London. Michael F. Rohde, a German lighting designer and professor at the Hochschule Wismar (HSW) in Wismar, was inspired to create an interdisciplinary event where light and health could be holistically addressed and connected with research and practice.