The Lighting Design Forum was held on Tuesday, 25 November 2014 at the National Design Centre in Singapore. The main aim of the Lighting Design Forum is to congregate experts, designers and students involved in the study of architecture, design and lighting design every year. Sponsored by Reggiani, Performance in Lighting and Eye Lighting Asia Pacific, this inaugural event was promoted by Roberto Baggio, General Manager of Performance in Lighting Singapore and supported by the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (ICCS), DesignSingapore Council and the Professional Lighting Design Convention (PLDC).

ICCS President Federico Donato introduced the Guest of Honour, Dr Gianluca Rubagotti, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Italy in Singapore who delivered the welcome speech. After presenting the programme and objective of the Lighting Design Forum, Baggio welcomed Jean Wee, Director of the National Heritage Board, who spoke about the importance of light and the significance of the year 2015 which has been announced by UNESCO as the International Year of Light.

The great idea of a lighting design forum sparked from an ambition to create a place for professionals in the lighting business where ideas and best practices can be unveiled and shared. “We wanted to create a new meeting point for designers, students and lecturers to meet and exchange ideas, goals and aims about past experiences and future ones. 2015 will be the International Year of Light and I thought it was the perfect moment to drive this new initiative.” said Baggio.

With the participation of prestigious speakers, experts in lighting, the theme of the conference’s first edition was the lighting of historic art and monuments. Louis and Emmanuel Clair from Light Cibles explained creative architectural lighting approaches of world heritage sites when design is governed by conservation restrictions on drilling and using screws, from Mont Saint-Michel in France to the lighting concept of Indonesia’s Borobudur.

Serena Tellini and Francesco Iannone from Consuline presented their discovery named the Monza Method – a new technique for lighting historic art, giving a practical demonstration on how the correct approach can lead to a deeper understanding of the artist’s work. Earlier on Monday, 24 November, Tellini and Iannone conducted a student workshop and training for the Lighting Design Forum staff with a focus on their Monza Method.

Baggio added: “People in Asia, from China to Indonesia, are discovering the importance of their origins and finding a cause for preserving prestigious monuments and retrieving pieces of art. We think that 100 museums will open next year in China. The key role and great opportunities of heritage lighting are so huge that we could not ignore them.”

Find out more about the Lighting Design Forum at www.lightingdesignforum.com