Light + Building 2022 flicks the smart city switch

Can real romance actually exist in a smart city? Think of the many night scenes in Woody Allen's ‘Midnight in Paris’, that invite the viewer to saunter and enjoy the semi-illuminated streets and alleys along the Seine. As a tourist, though, one is of course less familiar with a city's streets and plazas, so good lighting is vital for allowing visitors to feel safe as they move along its lanes, streets and boulevards at night.

In any case, innovative lighting concepts make a decisive contribution to safety in both urban and rural areas. Adequately illuminated urban space ensures that pedestrians or cyclists have good visibility and can also be seen by others, while of course road transport also requires lighting that is adapted to the local situation in order to ensure safe arrivals after dark.

This autumn, architects, landscape designers and urban planners – in other words, all those who help to develop lighting concepts – will be able to find valuable, up-to-date information and competent partners for this complex task at the leading international trade fair for lighting and building technology. After a pandemic-related break, Light + Building is back, providing a long-awaited overview of the latest technology and design trends. After all, manufacturers, engineers and designers have been anything but idle over the last four years, and will present a multitude of innovations in October.

This year, the fair will also offer visitors a completely new format to access exhibitors, content and events with its ‘Digital Extension’. The platform can be used in full by all fair participants from 2 October, in parallel with the start of the physical fair, and will also be available for another eight days after the fair ends on 6 October.

A virtual visit to the fair is already possible, and worthwhile too, as anyone who registers for the fair newsletter will receive a voucher code for a one-day ticket. With the ‘Digital Extension’, visitors can then dive even deeper and prepare for the fair, download contacts and chat histories, follow up on leads or discover exciting articles on lighting trends, industry information and innovations.

Some of these innovations include products and concepts that advance the development of lighting technology for smart cities. After all, the idea of the smart city is based on technology systems that include making cities safer by networking lighting systems. In addition to street lighting, this also covers other elements such as non-invasive video surveillance in parks, pedestrian zones and car parks.

The integration of video surveillance systems in modular, smart lighting columns is usually formally simple, while equipping luminaires for outdoor areas with an additional safety-relevant benefit. In combination with LED technology, these systems allow brightness and light temperatures to be controlled, so as to provide the appropriate illumination depending on the time of day or season. With some models, the intervals can also be adjusted by sensors so that they react flexibly to the volume of traffic.

The ever-important topic of sustainability touches on several aspects in the area of urban lighting. In addition to the use of energy-saving LED components, the self-sufficiency of a luminaire powered by solar energy offers many clear advantages. The installation site can be chosen flexibly, with no need for earthworks or cable laying. Some models equipped with photovoltaic panels can store electricity for ten days. Such panels are sometimes designed like a protective roof over the luminaire, while other systems also use the pole itself as a surface for electricity generation. Many manufacturers already produce fully recyclable luminaires according to the principles of the circular economy, with anodised aluminium masts, for example, able to be 100% recycled into new products even after decades of use.

In smart city concepts, the aspects of sustainability, safety and aesthetics assume the most prominent roles. It is not just about appearances, but rather about healthy living, integrity and safety concepts where form and function are unified. Making nighttime strolls a pleasure – and not just the ones along the Seine...

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