Lighting Tech Qatar 2014
Doha, 13th May 2014
The last two days I attended Lighting Tech Qatar 2014, a conference dedicated to professional lighting and lighting design on the side lines of the huge Project Qatar Exhibition that is being held in no other then the iconic Qatar National Convention Centre here in Doha. The mega structure with a huge exposition hall is the home for this exhibition that features everything that has to do with the construction and building industry on the back of the upcoming World Cup to be held here in 2022. What a difference this experience has been compared to the flimsy and poorly organised seminar in 2012 (by a different organiser). At least this conference attracted a far better mix of participants from government and local consulting companies to international lighting design experts and manufacturers. While not all speakers where of the so-called “experienced” presenter level, the overall quality of the speakers was good with a good enough content of interest to keep me present at all sessions for the past two days. Also as one of the speakers I find it a matter of respect to listen (and learn) from my colleagues in the business. You never stop learning in life…and I certainly did not here! International speakers amongst many others included Florian Theuer, Mark Sutton Vane, Juan Ferrari and Paul Ehlert…it was nice too meet them.
While my talk yesterday was an adapted version of how the LED Cowboys frustrate the life of lighting designers (it’s amazing how popular this story keeps on being!) there were several other subjects of great interest and not surprisingly the discussion in question and answer session often focussed on today’s LED technology versus “yesterday’s” conventional technology, the associated costs and challenges in realising projects. Also not surprisingly we found ourselves in many common problems such as visualising our solutions to our clients, managing costs versus quality, supervising contractors on installation and how local culture and climate impact on the final quality of the lighting installation. Much time was also spent on codes of practices that are or should be applied, the extent of sustainability that can or could be applied with Qatar being ideally positioned for large scale applications of solar energy with its on average 13 hours a day sunshine (and associated heat…it was 46 degree yesterday!). The debate still remains about costs and return on investment, with many presentations focussing on energy saving and reduction in maintenance with more flexibility and control with little explanation how much the LED lighting will really cost and whether it will ever be recouped as a cost saving over time…
Light Watch 5-79: Lighting Tech Qatar 2014 in pictures…
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