Deep and cross-disciplinary discussions define ArchLight Summit in Dallas
Commercial lighting show ArchLight wrapped up in Dallas last week after offering a full schedule of accredited education, the debut of a new immersive installation and 90 exhibitors to show their wares, organizer Dallas Market Center said yesterday.
The two-day program featured seven HSW-accredited sessions spanning recommended lighting levels, color rendering, historic preservation, outdoor controls, selectable lighting, and human health and wellbeing.
Urban lighting authority Leni Schwendinger opened the program with a keynote on nighttime lighting as a tool for urban safety and vibrancy, drawing on her work at New York’s Port Authority Bus Terminal and Times Square. Andrea Hartranft, FIALD, principal of Hartranft Lighting Studios and past president of the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), closed the program by asking what will differentiate lighting products once cost and efficiency are no longer the deciding factors.
Other featured speakers addressed a two-parameter approach to recommended lighting levels; the phase-by-phase implementation of ANSI/IES LP-30; the visual, perceptual, and circadian effects of light; and the practical limits of AI in lighting design. There was also a panel discussion among museum lighting designers drawn from institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Available Light, Inc.
The 2026 show introduced Behind the Light, an immersive installation exploring the art and science of light across two simulated environments: a healthcare setting and a corporate office. Running nearly every hour of the show, the experience gave specifiers in different disciplines a direct, hands-on point of reference for their own project types — as well as CEU credit, Dallas Market Center said.
Behind the Light will remain at Dallas Market Center as a permanent installation in TM 4814, with a CEU-accredited guided tour offered during the January 2027 edition of Lightovation.
As previously reported, beginning in 2027, ArchLIGHT Summit moves to June as part of Lighting Week at Dallas Market Center.
“A huge thank you to our exhibitors, sponsors, and partners — and to every professional who showed up for this sixth edition of ArchLIGHT Summit,” said Lea Tranakos, ArchLIGHT Summit show director. “This show keeps proving that great lighting design happens at the intersection of disciplines. We can’t wait to bring that same energy to Lighting Week at Dallas Market Center in June 2027.”
