12:00 – 13:00: The Lost Atmosphere: A Salutogenic Standard for Light

Moderator: Xander Cadisch – Light Tribe

 Speakers: Saskia Wheeler, Neuroaesthetics; Willie Duggan, Lighting Designer and Healthy Lighting Researcher; Menno Cramer, Neuro Ergonomists 

Modern lighting standards ask one question: “How can we illuminate without causing extreme harm?” This discussion asks a different one: “How can we illuminate to cause health?” 

The discussion is drawn from Xander Cadisch’s forthcoming book The Lost Atmosphere: A Salutogenic Guideline for Light (Routledge), developed through 30+ conversations with leading researchers across neuroscience, circadian biology, neuroaesthetics, biophilic design and lighting practice. 

13:00 – 14:00: Designing for Learning: Lighting for Health, Wellbeing and Cognitive Accessibility

Moderator: Àfrica Sabé, CICAT Representative

Speakers: Núria Castilla, University of Valencia; Light Artist, Frankie Boyle; Stavroula Angelaki, Luun

If light influences how we perceive, feel, concentrate and interact, why is educational lighting still so often designed primarily around visibility and compliance?

14:00 – 15:00: There’s No Light Without Shade: Shining a Light on Mental Health in the Lighting Industry

Moderator: Anna Campbell-Jones, Interior Designer 

Speakers: Paul Shoosmith of Light Forms; Leigh Kallos, SAMH representative; Iliana Zotou, Nulty+; Amelia Mackenzie, River Reset

The lighting industry is built on creativity, collaboration and passion – but behind every project are people navigating deadlines, client pressures, long hours and the constant drive for perfection.  

This panel will explore the realities of mental health within the lighting and wider design community, opening an honest conversation around wellbeing, resilience and how we can better support one another. Bringing together voices from across the industry, the discussion will explore why creating spaces for conversation matters, how we recognise when someone may be struggling, and what practical steps individuals, studios and companies can take to create a more supportive culture. 

The session will launch the “There’s No Light Without Shade” campaign, highlighting that just as light and shadow exist together in design, challenges and vulnerability are part of the human experience. 

15:00 – 16:00: Leading by design

Moderator: Amy Rennie, BuroHappold and Women in Lighting Ambassador 

Speakers: Deb Wythe, Design in Progress; Krishna Mistry, Mistry Lighting; Lisa Hammond, Gravity Design; Zerlina Hughes, Studio ZNA

What does it take to build a lighting design studio from the ground up?  

This panel brings together designers who have forged their own paths as founders and creative leaders to discuss entrepreneurship, leadership, resilience, and the realities of running a design practice. Through honest conversation, they’ll share the challenges they’ve faced, the lessons they’ve learned, and how they’re shaping the future of the industry. 

16:00 – 17:00: What If Light Were the Primary Material in Your Palette? 

Moderator: Alys Bryan, Design Insider  

Speakers: Jo Calver, Isla James Interiors; Graham Rollins, Lighting Design International; Ben Hayes, Unknown Works

What happens when we stop thinking about light as something added to an interior and start considering it as a vital part of the material palette? 

 This conversation will explore how light can shift perception, alter our experience of colour and texture, shape mood and behaviour, and change the way we connect with a space. Across residential, hospitality, retail and commercial interiors, it will ask how light can contribute to more inclusive environments, deepen biophilic connections and open new creative possibilities, from the elemental qualities of daylight to the technologies redefining the impact of interior lighting. 

17:15 – 18:00: Take a Moment… with ZHA

Moderator: Helen Ankers, [d]arc media

Speakers: Maria Ciszek and Caleb Baldwin, ZHA

d]arc media managing editor Helen Ankers sits down with the creative minds behind this year’s compelling light installation, Take a Moment, for an exclusive Q&A. Join ZHA designers Maria Ciszek and Caleb Baldwin as they delve into the inspiration behind the work, the design process and technical challenges involved, while exploring the wider relationship between architecture and light.

Following the Q&A, visitors are invited to Take a Moment themselves with a glass of champagne and experience the installation first-hand. There will also be an opportunity to meet the designers and ask questions.

11:00 – 12:00: Lighting and the Smart Buildings Opportunity: What the Industry Needs to Know

Moderator: Dr Shelley James 

Speakers: Ravi Lakhani, Chair of the Digital Buildings Council; Michael Hudson, Associate Director of Digital Transformation at the CBRE; Group Katherine Harvey Director, Rethink Workplace

Lighting infrastructure is uniquely positioned at the intersection of sustainability, safety, and human experience – present in every space in a building and perfectly placed to be the natural foundation of the next generation of smart building management systems.  

The opportunity for the lighting industry has never been greater, and the solutions already exist. In this session, join chair of the Digital Buildings Council Ravi Lakhani, Associate Director of Digital Transformation at the CBRE Michael Hudson and workplace strategy consultant Katherine Harvey to discuss what the lighting industry needs to know to be part of a smart future.

12:00 – 13:00: Is the Lighting Industry Ready for Convergence?

Moderator: Sacha Abizadeh, WSP

Speakers: Chris Massey, Planit; Satu Streatfield, Publica; Andra Poon, WilkinsonEyre; Ryan McGibbon, Southwark Council

Join this panel of experts as we take a closer look at the growing overlap between lighting, smart cities, EV infrastructure, digital technology and urban design, and how our industry is adapting to a more connected future. 

13:00 – 14:00: Circular Lighting: From Waste to Valuable Projects

Moderator: Andrea Padré, CICAT Representative

Speakers: Jordi Rocasalbas, Leds C4 chief of sustainability and innovation; Pilar Vazquez of Ecolum; Paul Beale of 18 Degrees; Flavie Lowres, Recolight 

Circularity is becoming one of the biggest challenges for the lighting industry. This panel would explore how discarded materials, existing products and new design approaches can generate meaningful lighting solutions, bringing together manufacturers and designers.

14:00 – 15:00: From  Stage to Space – How Stage Lighting can Inspire Architectural Lighting

Moderator: Ellie Walton, [d]arc media 

Speakers: Sofia Alexiadou lighting designer and academic; Solveig Busler, Schnick Schnack Systems; Peter Earle, lighting specialist

Peter Earle lighting consultant 

What can architects and lighting designers learn from the theatre? Stage lighting is designed to shape perception, direct attention, create emotion, and tell stories through light. Many of the same principles can transform architectural environments, from public spaces and workplaces to cultural venues and hospitality projects. 

This panel will explore how techniques used in stage lighting – such as layering light, controlling contrast, using colour strategically, and guiding movement through visual focus – can be adapted to architectural lighting design. Attendees will discover how theatrical approaches can help create more engaging, memorable, and human-centred spaces.

15:00 – 16:00: In Conversation with… Tupac Martir

Moderator: Matt Waring, [d]arc media 

Speaker: Tupac Matir, Lighting Designer

Every once in a while, you come across a designer that stops you in your tracks. Someone with a portfolio of work so awe-inspiring, eclectic and diverse, with the kind of character to match, that you just have to drop everything that you are doing and get to know them. One such designer is Tupac Martir – founder and Creative Director of Satore Studio. Join arc magazine editor, Matt Waring as he sits down with one of lighting design’s most interesting characters.