Share this on

Visionary Lighting Honored in Frankfurt

Thirty forward-thinking designs will be honored in a ceremony on April 7.

Nicholas Tamarin -- Interior Design, 3/28/2008 12:00:00 AM

Who has the brightest crystal ball of all? Messe Frankfurt has announced the recipients of its Lights of the Future Award, recognizing visionary lamp and lighting designs. Winners will take to the stage in a ceremony during Light + Building, International Trade Fair for Architecture and Technology, a massive lighting show on the Messe Frankfurt fairgrounds in Frankfurt, Germany from April 6-11.

An international jury that included lighting innovators Ulrike Brandi and Uwe Fischer winnowed down 197 entries from 143 companies and 24 countries to select the 30 energy-saving lamps and energy-efficient lighting systems, which will also be on display throughout the fair.

Competing designers were divided between student and professional categories, then called upon to demonstrate both technological prowess and design ability. Of the 30 winning designs (pdf), 11 were selected in the student category, with Lars Dinter taking home two prizes for his Nola and Eine Art Von Kerzenlicht designs. Zumtobel Lighting and Tobias Grau each took home two awards in the professional category, which also featured winning designs by industry heavyweights Belux and Viabizzuno.

Light + Building will also play host to the 32 winners of the Design Plus Award, now in its 25th year, which honors ground-breaking lighting designs that are about to be introduced, or have been on the market for two years or less. Winning companies include Erco Leuchten, Nimbus Group, and Berker, each claiming two trophies.

Aside from all the prize giving, the fair will feature international exhibitors in four sectors. Light will focus on product development, design trends, and technical innovation. Electro-Technology tackles systems integration and security and network issues. Rounding out the show floor is Home and Building Automation, and Architectural Systems.

From top: The LEED lamp from Tobias Grau and the Disk lamp from Belux are among the winners of the Lights of the Future Award.