STYLEPARK LIGHT + BUILDING
Light as a tool
The Light + Building exhibition defines how light can become a key medium in the built environment: Carla Wilkins, Senior Partner and Global Creative Director at Lichtvision Design Berlin, summarises the project in an interview: ‘Living Light shows in the here and now that light is not a detail, but a medium that creates orientation, well-being and visions of the future.’ This approach refers to the spirit of optimism of the 1920s: ‘This complexity ties in with an idea that Joachim Teichmüller first formulated in 1926 with the term “light architecture” – light as a creative force in our living environment.’
An essential component of the project is its international origins. ‘The installation is the result of creative collaboration between our various office locations and their inspiration from different cultural backgrounds,’ says Wilkins. This perspective reflects the structure of the world's leading trade fair for lighting and building technology, which brings together experts every year and promotes the exchange of technological developments and design visions. At the same time, the diversity of the trade fair audience played a decisive role in the curatorial direction. Wilkins explains: ‘It was important to us to create an experience that would allow both experts and end consumers to feel how central light is to our well-being and perception – regardless of prior knowledge.’ The four areas of life – home, learning, work and communication – draw on familiar everyday situations to facilitate barrier-free communication and provide space for technical discussions. The installation is intended to provide key impetus for future design and planning strategies.
The staged corridor ‘Green Spine’ is a striking spatial element. Wilkins says: ‘The Green Spine combines architecture, nature and light to create an experience that reflects how we always carry the constancy of nature with us through different phases of life.’ The moss wall not only fulfils an atmospheric function, but also a sustainable requirement: ‘Moss as a material also allows for a sustainable approach, as it requires no watering, no nutrient medium, no fertiliser and has no pest problems for a temporary installation. It has an acoustic component, which we support with the cork flooring.’ The combination of material selection, lighting and spatial orientation picks up on central themes of Light + Building: sustainability, technological intelligence and holistically conceived spatial experiences.
‘The Living Light’ illustrates how comprehensively light influences us – a topic that is becoming increasingly important in research and planning. Wilkins emphasises: ‘With ‘The Living Light’, we as the Lichtvision team want to show how holistically light affects us – biologically, emotionally and socially. Light not only accompanies us, it shapes us." This perspective is particularly significant in the context of Light + Building, which focuses on future topics such as user-centred design and intelligent building technology. The installation becomes a resonance chamber that brings together scientific, technological and design aspects of the effects of light. It also addresses a challenge that has often been underestimated in the industry: the lack of integration of light biology findings into holistic design processes. Carla Wilkins puts it clearly: ‘We still make far too little use of the health benefits of light. A truly holistic, human-centred design always considers light as part of our physical and mental well-being.’
Light + Building offers the ideal setting to further advance this discussion and develop future standards. ‘The Living Light’ is thus intended to become a multifaceted link between design, research and technological innovation.
‘The Living Light – where Design and Technology Shape the Future’
Hall 3.1
8 to 13 March 2026
