Dallas Market Center Shares Details of Upcoming ArchLIGHT Summit

September 15, 2021  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Designer Weekly, Industry   

ArchLIGHT Summit is the first commercial lighting event in nearly two years and comes after a series of safe and successful trade events held at Dallas Market Center over the last 18 months with strict attention to CDC guidelines. Complete health & safety plans are available via the front page of the Dallas Market Center website.

The two-day event will include the participation of more than 60 lighting brands, more than 30 educational sessions, and numerous networking events designed to build connections. Details are available at archlightsummit.com including registration information and a special $129/night rate at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel, walking distance to the show.

The expo portion of ArchLIGHT Summit is complimentary and will take place on the first floor of the Trade Mart. Exhibitors include Hubbell, Energy Focus, Pure Edge Lighting, Targetti, Impact Lighting, DMF Lighting, Focal Point and Casambi. Additionally, several exhibitors with permanent showrooms at Dallas Market Center will also have a presence on the show floor, including Eurofase, Legrand, Hinkley, Hubbardton Forge, WAC LIghting, Modern Forms, Sonneman - A Way of Light, Satco Products and Accord Lighting. Also on the first floor, agency partners Hossley Lighting and Power Solutions, and NexGen Lighting Solutions will present “neighborhoods” of brands on their line cards.

The seminars and panel discussions will update attendees on evolving lighting solutions and address personal development, business optimization, and opportunities to explore diversity and inclusion within these disciplines. Unique hands-on demonstrations and other interactive platforms will engage participants in new ways. A $50 fee will allow attendees access to all education and hospitality events. The full list of speakers and schedule is now available via the website. Highlights include:

Women in Lighting + Design (WILD) Welcome Party, 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. on Monday, September 20 in D15trict Lounge, offering spectacular views of downtown Dallas from the top of the World Trade Center building, which adjoins the Trade Mart.

On Tuesday, The J.E.D.I Agenda: An Intersectional Approach to Designing a Resilient Future will explore justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. Presented by the SmithGroup, this session will provide an introduction to these values and explore strategies and solutions currently proposed and implemented at the firm for creating a workplace centered in J.E.D.I. frameworks, policies and practices. 

Also on Tuesday, Measuring the Success of a Lighting Project—How Do We Measure, and How Should We Measure, presented by Alyssa Weber – Visual Interest, Carolyn Schilling - Boulder Associates, Andrea Wilkerson - PNNL, and Sarah Safranek – PNNL.

Wrapping up Tuesday is the DNA Discovery Event, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. During this unique hospitality and networking platform, all attendees are welcome to explore participating permanent exhibits on the third and fourth floors of the Trade Mart while enjoying unique drinks, food and entertainment. Guided tours will be available for guests who meet at the Helix Happy Hour on the first floor of the Trade Mart at 6:30 p.m.

The centerpiece display for this event, and throughout ArchLIGHT Summit, is the Design DNA light art installation, designed by Light Collective and powered by The Lighting Exchange. In this interactive experience, participants will not only see how their professional data compares statistically to others, but their unique DNA will render a pattern of lights in the immersive installation, which incorporates the modular LIGEO LED lighting system and Acuity Brands’ Fresco controller

On Wednesday, WILD’s three Texas chapters will host a Networking Breakfast with Michelle Cruz of Putterman Scharck & Associates, Alyssa Stewart of Texas Christian University, Sarah Mosser of Hermitage, and Alriah Hunt of the Architectural Lighting Alliance. RSVP required and space limited. Also on Wednesday, Sustainability in Lighting: What? Why? How? with Melissa Mattes of Sladen Feinstein Integrated Lighting, Reiko Kagawa of Sladen Feinstein Integrated Lighting, Jane White of Finelite, Karen Jess-Lindsley of Lindsley Lighting, and Jon Penndorf with Perkins + Will. Finally, Queer Perspectives on Architectural Lighting will feature the thoughtful examination of struggles and insights from Alana Shepherd of Intangible Light, Amy Braun of HMC Architects, Martin van Koolbergen of KGM Architectural Lighting, and Shanna Snow of Shanna Snow Design.

Across both days, four interactive sessions on Specifying Light Source Color Rendition led by Tony Esposito of Lighting Resource Solutions and Jason Livingston of Studio T+L will feature innovative displays including live models to demonstrate lighting’s effect on skin tones. Texas Christian University’s Lighting Education students will participate in one of these sessions on Wednesday as part of ArchLIGHT Summit’s outreach to tomorrow’s professionals. Lighting Design students from Parsons will also join select sessions via Facebook Live stream.

Across all elements of ArchLIGHT Summit, the show’s mission is to create something fearlessly new driven by three progressive goals: Showcase Only The Best. Be Boldly Inclusive. Be Radically Playful. To accomplish these goals the show is working hand-in-hand with industry thought leaders on shaping the show with a diverse group of perspectives as well as creating hands-on product interaction and forward-thinking seminars and sessions.

ArchLIGHT Summit will be co-located with Dallas Design Week, September 20-23, providing additional CEU and networking opportunities for attendees of both events. Dallas Market Center is the largest and most active design center in the country, with more than 1.5 million square feet of home décor showrooms in three buildings.