Light + Building 2026 will unveil a special immersive installation called “The Living Light”, featuring four themed spaces designed to demonstrate how innovative lighting technology enriches everyday life. The exhibition, developed by international design company Lichtvision Design and curated by Senior Partner and Global Creative Director Carla Wilkins, will be presented in Hall 3.1 during the event from 8 to 13 March 2026 in Frankfurt am Main.
This marks the first time Light + Building presents such a comprehensive, holistic concept that brings together atmosphere, emotional wellbeing, performance and communication through light. The Lichtvision Design team, operating from offices in Berlin, London, Hong Kong and Shanghai, has developed thematic focuses from each location, resulting in a multifaceted presentation that reflects different cultural perspectives and working methods.
A Guiding Journey Through Four Areas of Life
The installation guides visitors through four central spaces, each exploring light’s role in different contexts. The journey is unified by a central spatial element called the “Green Spine” – a light-staged corridor inspired by natural growth forms and accompanied by a moss-designed wall. Light provides orientation, guides the gaze, and changes in intensity and mood along each station, with nature serving as a symbol of connection between areas of life, technologies and people.
The “Home” space begins the experience as an emotional starting point. Here, light adapts to times of day, moods and individual needs, with lighting scenes ranging from calm, warm morning and evening situations to more intense, activating moments and nocturnal scenarios. Visitors can control the atmosphere via a lighting interface, experiencing how light creates security, enables retreat and supports emotional closeness.
In the “Education” area, four specially designed spatial scenarios demonstrate how light shapes learning environments for different learning types – from playful and active learning to digital approaches and specialised formats addressing health-related needs such as ADHD. Targeted lighting strategies, ranging from direct and indirect illumination to calm, diffuse scenes and activating accents, illustrate how light increases motivation and supports individual learning processes.
The “Work” themed space stages everyday working life as a spatial narrative through geometric environments and light. Different working phases – morning focus, midday drift, afternoon acceleration and evening wind-down – are made perceptible through light, rhythm and intensity. A deliberately disordered workplace at the centre symbolises the individual within a controlled system, with light taking on a narrative function that measures time and makes emotional states visible.
The “Communication” area showcases the interplay between light, sensor technology and interaction. Light responds to movement, changes dynamically and makes connectivity visible, allowing visitors to experience how networked lighting systems promote communication and make spaces interactive.
Supporting Programme and Expert Exchange
“The Living Light” forms part of Light + Building’s comprehensive event programme, offering expertise and inspiration for lighting designers, architects and industry professionals. The Design Plaza in Hall 3.1 serves as the central meeting point, hosting daily panel talks, presentations and guided tours that provide in-depth insights into current developments in the lighting industry.
According to Carla Wilkins, “With ‘The Living Light’, we want to show that light is far more than illumination. 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.”
