Light Is Life

Light is life. Light is essential for humans, animals, and plants. Today, we know that light has a wide range of effects on humans. Light controls our sleep-wake cycle and influences our hormone balance. Light affects our well-being and our performance. Light awakens emotions. None of this is new. Rather, it is a matter of continually raising awareness of these facts. This includes the fact we are deficient in natural daylight consumption, which must be compensated for with artificial light in terms of health and quality of life. As studies in Europe show, for example by the World Health Organization (WHO), people today spend an average of 90 percent of their time indoors: due to work or school, as well as living and leisure activities. 

Light shapes our everyday lives, but not everyone's everyday life is characterized by optimal lighting conditions and dynamic lighting concepts that mimic the natural course of the day. Architects, interior architects, designers, lighting designers, and builders are therefore challenged to use light in its optimal role, adapted to use, location, and time. This is especially important due to the often limited access and lack of opportunities for end users themselves to participate in the decision-making process.

“Light is a living design factor that appeals to our emotions, motivates us, and connects us with one another. When we use technology in the right way and embed it in a holistic overall concept, light can enhance every moment of our everyday lives,” says Carla Wilkins, Senior Partner and Global Creative Director at Lichtvision Design Berlin, in a press release for Light + Building 2026. Under the curatorial direction of Carla Wilkins, the Berlin-based lighting design firm is developing a special exhibition for the trade fair: “The Living Light – where Design and Technology Shape the Future.” A tour takes visitors through four central areas of life, namely “Home,” “Education,” “Work,” and “Communication.” It is an exciting demonstration of how lighting can enrich our daily lives.

Carla Wilkins and Philip Rafael (both from Lichtvision, Berlin) will kick off the Talks+Tours and Tours event series organized by World-Architects in collaboration with Light + Building on Sunday, March 8. From 11 am to 12:45 pm (45-minute talk, 60-minute tour), the two will take a look at the future of lighting in “Designed Moments.” The central meeting point for all Talks+Tours and Guided Tours taking place from Sunday through Wednesday during the trade fair is the Design Plaza in Hall 3.1—the hub for architecture, lighting, and design.

The topics covered by Talks+Tours are diverse and provide inspiration, above all through personal exchange, for creating sustainable, connected, and livable (light) spaces. Daniel Walden (a·g Licht, Cologne) knows that optimal solutions often do not come off the shelf, but are instead a “journey” that begins with a vision: “Iconic Light Lines from Vision to Reality.” Jan Nielsen (CONCEPTLICHT, Traunstein) wants to encourage people to face the challenges of “Lighting Design in Existing Buildings” and break new ground.

The guided tours by World-Architects cover an even broader range of topics. The first tour on Sunday, March 8, will be led by Lance Hollman starting at 2 pm (jack be nimble, Berlin) in the context of “Atmosphere by Design: Sustainable Lighting that Shapes Space.” Sabine De Schutter (Studio De Schutter, Berlin) will report on “Light between Circulation and AI.” Claudia Tiesler (sqloud, Hamburg) will contribute to the discourse on “New Lighting and Building Technology for Sustainable Architecture.” 

Iris and Michael Podgorschek (podpod design, Vienna) discuss the sensuality of light and how light shapes our perception of architecture in “Light is more than visible.” Jonas Godehardt (Reflexion, Zurich) addresses the growing demand for project-specific lighting in “Signature Lighting – light as you want it.” Beatrice Seidt and Florian Zach (both 3lpi lichtplaner + beratende ingenieure, Munich) address the definition of architecture, both interior and exterior, through light and talk about “Experiencing light spaces: From the facade to the details.” World-Architects also invites you to attend the presentation entitled “Dark Sky & Design – Sustainable Outdoor Lighting” with Jule Leu (ANDRES + PARTNER Lichtplanung, Hamburg).

Light + Building
March 8 to 13, 2026
Messe Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main
light-building.messefrankfurt.com

Register here for Talks+Tours and Guided Tours by World-Architects. 
You will find all dates and further details there.