A major conference on lighting – which will coincide with the Lumiere festival – is expected to draw international delegates from more than 70 cities to Durham.
Architects, engineers, planners, lighting designers and mayors will be flocking to Durham to discuss how lighting can contribute to our urban landscapes in the 21st century.
The delegates are expected to come from as far afield as Shanghai, China; Reykjavik, Iceland; Toulouse, France; and Eindhoven in the Netherlands; as well as from more familiar locations like London and Glasgow.
The conference will discuss issues such as how smart networks and intelligent lighting can boost quality of life, as well as the role of lighting in improving the attractiveness of cities.
The conference will also examine how lighting can be made more environmentally friendly and sustainable, and how lighting strategies can benefit from the Internet of Things.
The delegates will pay visits to some of the north east’s iconic night-time landscapes, including Durham Cathedral and Castle and the quaysides of Newcastle and Gateshead.
There will also be a visit to St Oswald’s Church, Durham, so delegates can meet artists and technicians involved with Lumiere and hear how they turn their visions into pieces of light art.
The conference is organised by LUCI (Lighting Urban Community International), which is a network of cities that cooperate and share ideas on the subject of urban lighting.
LUCI holds its Annual General Meeting and Conference in a major city each year. Previous LUCI conferences have been held in Guangzhou (China), Helsinki (Finland), Seoul (South Korea) and Dubrovnik (Croatia).
This year’s meeting in Durham will be LUCI’s 15th Annual Conference. The meeting will take place from Monday 13th to Thursday 16th November, overlapping with the Lumiere festival, which will be held between Thursday 16th and Sunday 19th November.
Cllr Bill Kellett, who is the mayor of Durham City and the chairman of Durham County Council, said, “Durham has a great story to tell and we are delighted to welcome the LUCI network in November.”
“We are making great strides in realising the potential of light to transform our city and change perceptions of Durham as a place.”
“Lumiere, the UK’s largest light festival, attracts hundreds of thousands to our city and generates millions for our local economy.”
“We are using sustainable lighting to celebrate our unique history and heritage and to drive economic growth and job creation.”
Mary-Ann Schreurs, President of LUCI and vice mayor of Eindhoven, said, “We are very happy to hold the LUCI Annual General Meeting 2017 in beautiful Durham, where so many aspects of light in the city converge, making it the perfect setting for this important LUCI gathering.”
To learn more about the LUCI conference or to register, please visit www.luciassociation.org/.
(Featured image courtesy of Shaun Dunmall, from Flickr Creative Commons)
