At the heart of Euroluce 2025, tomorrow the 10th and Thursday the 11th will feature a special event – the Euroluce International Lighting Forum – Light for Life. Light for Spaces — with twenty international voices, including Robert Wilson and Marjan van Aubel, reflecting on the impact of lighting design.
The meetings and workshops will take place in The Forest of Space Arena, designed by architect Sou Fujimoto, a kind of arena that also functions as a space for exchanging ideas or relaxing. We spoke with Carlo Urbinati, president of Assoluce by FederlegnoArredo.
What was the starting point for this initiative?
It goes back quite a long way: in the first months of the pandemic, together with the board of Assoluce, we started a work to try to understand what was no longer satisfying a large number of Euroluce exhibitors, which at the time was us (Urbinati is president and founder of Foscarini, ed.). We realized one thing: the audiences of Salone and Euroluce have become differentiated over time, ‘decoupled’ so to speak. This is due to technological progress, which, among other things, has led to the emergence of professional figures who are unfortunately not yet recognized in Italy, and who are even required by law abroad: lighting designers.
But isn’t it all about design?
Not just design. These professionals are the ones who decide how to light a project, with which luminaires. These people are increasingly distancing themselves from the image of Euroluce as a side event of the Salone: they are also interested in understanding the technical side, they are specialized people. And they had begun to lose interest in the event. It is crucial for us to reopen the dialogue with them: putting the visitor at the centre of the Salone’s activities means being able to attract the visitors that the exhibitors are interested in. If the visitors are interested, the exhibitors will come.
Were you already moving in this direction with the work of Beppe Finessi (curator of The City of Lights, a series of exhibitions/installations within Euroluce 2023, ed.)?
It is a very important evolution. In 2023 we have changed the grid, we have put ourselves a little bit in the shoes of the visitor. Together with Lombardini22 we changed the organization of the space, then Beppe Finessi’s work provided what I like to call “rest areas” to recharge the visitor’s attention by proposing some other requests, an enrichment. This year we are taking a more proactive approach and proposing a thesis around which all the talks will revolve, with panel discussions and then workshops in the afternoon. We want to raise awareness of how much light can have a positive effect or, if not used correctly and competently, a negative one.
That’s where the composition of the group of people who were called to speak came from, an extremely broad, 360-degree approach.
That’s right. We’re talking to practitioners who deal with these things every day: we could have had the classic conference where someone talks about the results they have achieved – but that actually happens at every booth at Euroluce. That’s why the idea was to go up a level, to broaden the field. Annalisa Rosso has done an incredible job, she has managed to imagine and involve people who bring knowledge even far from those specific to the world of light and technology, so we will talk about culture but also in concrete terms and with a goal: to interest and stimulate even people who work in this field every day. And to bring together audiences that may never have found a moment of synthesis.
Let’s talk about the container, the “square” designed by Fujimoto. How did this idea come about?
It is a module that multiplies, which is interesting from a design and project point of view, because it varies according to the heights you want to reach. This module, repeated n times, manages to define an area without dividing it, it is something that leans in the middle of Euroluce. It should not divide, it should be permeable, people should be able to participate, to enter, to listen. Not at home, we called this event Forum: like the Roman Forum, the place intended for meetings. Opportunities for interaction, not only among the audience but especially with the speakers, will be encouraged. A game of questions and answers, perhaps unexpected.
The program includes six master classes, two panel discussions and two workshops.
The theme for April 10 is ‘Light for Life’.
Speakers:
Marjan van Aubel, solar designer
Stefano Mancuso, pioneer in plant neurobiology
Robert Wilson, renowned American artist who will talk about his sense of light.
In the afternoon there will be a round table with:
Nicholas Belfield, partner at dpa Lighting Consultants
Rogier van der Heide, lighting designer
Shelley James, lighting strategy consultant at the Age of Light Innovations studio and expert on light and wellbeing
Manuel Spitschan, research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics
Piero Benvenuti, professor emeritus of astrophysics at the University of Padua.
Finally, the afternoon workshop, dedicated to a select number of lighting designers and led by Adrien de Lassence, Associate Director Sou Fujimoto Atelier Paris, will focus on the themes, concepts and perspectives discussed on the first day.
On April 11, the theme will be ‘Light for Spaces: Artificial Light and its Impact on the Aesthetics, Perception and Functionality of Architecture’.
Participants will include:
Kaoru Mende, Japanese lighting designer
Patrick Rimoux, artist and light sculptor known for his interventions on urban monuments, collaborations with Wim Wenders, Akira Kurosawa and Bollywood, and most recently for the new lighting of Notre-Dame de Paris
Lonneke Gordijn, artist and co-founder of DRIFT, a studio specializing in light sculptures, installations and performances.
In the afternoon, a panel discussion will be held with the participation of
Susanna Antico, architect and lighting designer, APIL associate;
Hervé Descottes, lighting designer, founder and owner of L’Observatoire International;
Mariel Fuentes, lighting designer and co-founder of MMAS Lighting;
Timothy Ingold, Professor Emeritus of Social Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen;
Elisa Orlanski Ours, Chief Planning and Design Officer of Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group;
Carla Wilkins, President-elect of the IALD (International Association of Lighting Designers) and Senior Partner of Lichtvision Design.
Finally, the afternoon workshop, dedicated to a select number of lighting designers, will offer a practical and functional insight by A.J. Weissbard, lighting designer and international artist, integrating all the themes, concepts and visions covered during the day.
All images courtesy Euroluce 2025
