Flos - The Glowing Track
Flos Architectural has introduced The Glowing Track, a modular architectural lighting system that combines high performance, versatility and refined design in a single solution. Developed in Valencia, Spain, the collection delivers immersive, homogeneous ambient light that integrates seamlessly into its surroundings. Available in a refined palette of White, Black, Brushed Bronze and Brushed Steel, the slim 47mm profiles and complementary spotlights sit comfortably within high-end interiors, adding a sense of quiet sophistication. The system also offers flexible dimming options, including DALI and 1–10V protocols, Casambi track control via a dimmer device, and wireless control through the FLOS Control app for iOS and Android, supporting remote, recessed or surface installations.
40 under 40 winners announced for 2025
(Global) - The 40 under 40 winners for 2025 have been announced, recognising the next generation of talent shaping the global lighting industry.
This year’s programme attracted an impressive 354 nominations, with 156 nominees from 33 countries submitting their work for consideration. Following a rigorous judging process, 40 outstanding individuals have been selected, highlighting the depth, diversity and ambition of emerging lighting professionals worldwide.
The judges in this year's 40 under 40 included Carla Wikins (Germany), Jeff Shaw (UK), Waleed Fakousa (UAE), Moemi Narbero Zumalacárregui (Spain), Giuseppe Simone (Australia), and Paola Pietrantoni (USA).
To mark 10 years of the 40 under 40 competition, its organisers will host a special celebratory session at Light + Building Frankfurt on 9 March, from 16:00 to 18:00. The event will begin by honouring the 2025 winners, followed by talks from past recipients reflecting on their passion for light. The session will conclude with drinks, and all attendees are warmly invited to join the celebration.
See the winners below:
To mark 10 years of the 40 under 40 competition, a special celebratory session will take place at Light + Building Frankfurt on 9 March, from 4pm to 6pm. The event will begin by honouring the 2025 winners, followed by talks from past recipients reflecting on their passion for light. The session will conclude with drinks, and everyone is invited to attend.
www.lightcollective.com/fortyunder40
Call for speakers! [d]arc thoughts returns to Clerkenwell Design Week
(UK) – [d]arc media is pleased to confirm that its partnership with Clerkenwell Design Week will continue into 2026, with the return of the much-anticipated [d]arc thoughts talks programme from the 19-21 May.
As part of the lighting exhibition at the historic House of Detention, [d]arc media will once again host a three-day programme of talks, bringing together leading voices from across lighting, interiors and architecture. With planning now underway, the editorial team is inviting speaker suggestions and topic ideas from the design community.
With Clerkenwell Design Week’s audience largely made up of interior designers and interior architects, the programme aims to address the lighting conversations that matter most right now. We want to hear what you would like to understand better, explore in greater depth, or see discussed more openly within the context of lighting and the built environment.
For lighting designers, this is also an opportunity to help shape the dialogue. What knowledge is most valuable to share with the interior community? Which conversations feel timely, important, or overdue? How can we better bridge the gap between disciplines and encourage meaningful knowledge exchange? All ideas, recommendations and expressions of interest are welcome.
Those wishing to be considered as a speaker should email Helen Ankers via h.ankers@mondiale.co.uk.
The [d]arc thoughts programme continues to provide a platform for insight-led discussion, critical thinking and cross-disciplinary collaboration, and arc media looks forward to shaping another compelling edition in partnership with Clerkenwell Design Week.
See some of our previous talks at CDW via www.arc-magazine.com/category/industry/arc-tv
[d]arc awards announces its 2025 judges
(Worldwide) - The [d]arc awards has announced its esteemed shortlisting panel of judges, consisting of industry experts who featured in the LiGHT 25 [d]darc thoughts programme. With only 10 days to go until submissions close, it will be up to our judges to use their lighting design expertise to narrow down the best projects and products of 2025.
The six judges include Magdalena Gomez lighting designer of 20 years and founder of So It Is Design Studio (top left); David Atkinson, founder of David Atkinson Lighting Design (DALD) (top centre); Krishna Mistry founder of Mistry Lighting (top right); Sanjit Bahra founder of DesignPlusLight (bottom left); Tad Trylski lighting designer with expertise in both Architectural and Theatre disciplines and a previous judge for the Dali Awards (bottom centre); and Zoe Faulkner, Partner at Troup Bywaters + Anders, where she leads the Architectural Lighting team.
When submissions close on the 30th of January, our jury of leading practitioners will evaluate the submissions and release the shortlist in February. After that, the final decision will be left in the hands of the global design community. However, entrants benefit from increased industry visibility, with every project or product featured on the [d]arc awards website. Shortlisted entrants also receive a lifetime complimentary listing in the [d]arc awards directory.
The winners of the 2025 awards will be announced in Woolwich Works in London on the 30th April, and will join by lighting professionals from across the global community to celebrate.
Recognised globally as one of the most comprehensive and inclusive awards in architectural and creative lighting, the [d]arc awards celebrate excellence across a wide spectrum of project and product categories. This year’s programme once again welcomes submissions from professionals working across the built environment and the lighting design sector, with a strong focus on both artistic expression and technical achievement.
So to be in with a chance of winning and attending the most anticipated awards party of the year, submit your project or products to www.darcawards.com/enter
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With thanks to this year’s sponsors: OneEightyOne, David Village Lighting (Artemide), DRK Lighting, ERCO, formalighting, Signify, DALI Alliance, Pharos Architectural Controls Ltd, Nicolaudie Architectural Control, Huda Lighting, LiGHT 26, LEDFlex Group, LED Linear, Lucent Lighting Ltd, Vivalyte (together with their UK distributor Nox Obscura), and awards manufacturer, Applelec.
And a big thanks to our lighting design partners this year: Arup, Buro Happold, dpa lighting consultants, Foster + Partners, Foundry London, Nulty+
Dark Light welcomes Gabler Youngston Lighting Design to the team
Gabler Youngston Lighting Design is joining Dark Light Design to work together on their expanded portfolio of work and a stronger national presence.
With offices in Seattle, St. Louis, and Atlanta, the combined team now offers a variety of resources and a broader geographic reach. Combining their extensive experience across a broad range of project types, aims to support clients at every scale, from finely detailed, high-finish environments to city-scale infrastructure programs.
Neko - Mission S
A refined, in-track profile crafted in a smooth, architectural finish, designed to deliver efficient and controlled illumination. With flexible driver options and full 3-circuit compatibility, it delivers a clean, confident beam suited to retail displays, gallery pieces, and hospitality settings where precise accent lighting shapes the atmosphere.
Illuminating the Path to Sustainability with Signify
As the construction industry faces mounting pressure to reduce emissions, energy consumption, and waste, the race to implement efficient building technologies has become more critical than ever in achieving net-zero targets by 2050. Lighting, when inefficient, can be a major contributor to energy consumption in buildings, leading to increased energy costs and unnecessary carbon emissions. Hence, lighting too had been going through its ‘transformation’ to become more sustainable.
However, the push for sustainability in lighting extends well beyond energy efficiency. It involves considerations such as product durability, embodied carbon, reuse, and repairability - factors that collectively shape the lifecycle of lighting products. Sustainable lighting isn’t just about using energy-efficient light sources; it’s about addressing every stage of a luminaire’s lifecycle, from design and manufacturing to installation, operation, maintenance, and disposal. The lighting industry has undergone significant transformations in recent years, driven by technological advancements and a heightened awareness of environmental impact. These changes are influencing lighting designs for projects across diverse sectors, whether it’s a school, hotel, hospital, or office.
Collaborating for a Brighter Future
For specifiers and designers, sustainable lighting design trends are now a central focus. Clients are increasingly prioritising solutions that reduce environmental impact and operating costs while creating healthy, comfortable spaces for occupants. Yet, specifiers often face challenges in finding lighting solutions that strike the perfect balance of commercial viability, sustainability, human-centric design, compliance with regulations, and integration with advanced control systems.
Lighting designs are becoming more ambitious and innovative, driven by the growing demand for solutions that address all pillars of sustainability. This complexity underscores the need for tools and resources that simplify the specification process while enabling creative, impactful designs.
Recognising these industry challenges, Signify introduced the Pioneers of Light portal. A comprehensive platform offering access to cutting-edge lighting innovations, intuitive tools, and a wealth of resources tailored to the needs of the lighting design community.
A Portal Designed for the Lighting Design Community
Launched in 2025, Pioneers of Light is a dedicated portal that empowers specifiers with the tools and information they need to design with confidence. The platform addresses the unique workflows and challenges of the lighting design community, ensuring that professionals remain up to date on the latest industry trends and advancements.
Since its launch, Pioneers of Light has introduced several features to streamline the specification process and enhance the user experience:
- Improved Data Flow: The portal simplifies the journey from product discovery to specification, making it easier than ever for users to find and order the right lighting solutions for their projects.
- Application-Based Solutions: Whether designing for a classroom, auditorium, healthcare facility, or office space, Pioneers of Light provides tailored lighting solutions for various application areas. For instance, specifiers working on educational projects can explore products specifically designed for schools, ensuring optimal performance and sustainability.
- Advanced Product Selection Tools: The Pioneers of Light product configurator allows users to browse, configure, and specify lighting products with ease. Selections can be based on basic photometric parameters or detailed configurations, providing flexibility to meet diverse project needs.
- Expanding Knowledge Resources: Signify continues to enhance the portal’s knowledge hub, offering insights, trends, and educational resources to help specifiers stay informed and make well-rounded decisions.
Lighting the Way Forward
Pioneers of Light represents Signify’s commitment to supporting the lighting design community in addressing the complexities of modern sustainability demands. By providing access to innovative solutions, intuitive tools, and expert knowledge, the portal empowers specifiers to create lighting designs that are not only efficient but also aligned with broader environmental goals.
Whether designing for schools, cities, manufacturing facilities, or sports venues, Pioneers of Light enables specifiers to illuminate spaces with confidence, creativity, and sustainability at the forefront. With this platform, Signify continues to lead the charge in transforming lighting design for a better, brighter future. As Pioneers of Light continues to grow closer to the specifier community, answering their needs from sustainability to specific applications, Signify will continue to enhance the user experience on the portal. These enhancements will not just make products easy to discover but will also ensure the perfect design for every application.
Discover more about Pioneers of Light and explore a world of possibilities at Pioneers of Light | Signify
arc to attend Light + Intelligent Building Middle East
(UAE) - arc’s Editor, Matt Waring, will represent [d]arc media at Light + Intelligent Building Middle East. As part of the programme, Waring will moderate two sessions on the InSpotlight Stage, contributing to discussions around professional practice and lighting design culture.
In the first session, Waring will host a panel discussion focused on multidisciplinary approaches to mentorship, collaboration and technical excellence. The panel brings together Kristina Allison (SLL), Jared Smith (CBCL), Robert White (Illuminart) and Majeed Uz Zafer (Light Factor), who will share perspectives from across lighting, engineering and the built environment.
The second session will see Waring in conversation with lighting designer Michael Grubb. The discussion will centre on Grubb’s recent book, Stories With Light, exploring the ideas behind its creation, the development process and its reception since publication six months ago.
Light + Intelligent Building Middle East brings together professionals from across lighting, architecture and building technologies, and serves as a platform for dialogue on design, innovation and industry practice within the region and beyond. The talks are free to attend for all those registered to visit the show.
www. light-middle-east.ae.messefrankfurt.com/dubai/register
Arkoslight achieves carbon neutrality
(Spain) - Arkoslight has reached carbon neutrality after calculating, reducing and offsetting its direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions (Scopes one and two) for the year 2024, making it the first company in the Spanish lighting sector to achieve carbon neutrality.
The company’s carbon footprint has been verified by the Carbon Footprint, Offsetting and Absorption Projects Registry of Spain’s Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO). Following this verification, Arkoslight received the official “Calculate, Reduce and Offset” seal.
Between 2021 and 2024, Arkoslight measured its corporate carbon footprint in line with internationally recognised standards. The assessment covered Scope 1 emissions, generated directly by the company’s activities, and Scope 2 emissions, linked to electricity consumption. The calculations apply to the company’s headquarters in Ribarroja del Túria, Valencia.
Over this period, Arkoslight reports a 12% reduction in CO₂ emissions. Measures contributing to this reduction include energy efficiency initiatives, the installation and expansion of photovoltaic panels with a capacity of 100 kWp, and the purchase of carbon credits. The credits were sourced from a certified reforestation project located in Valdés, Asturias (project code 2024-b440), enabling the offsetting of remaining emissions.
The achievement comes alongside continued business growth and the expansion of the company’s headquarters in 2024, which coincided with Arkoslight’s 40th anniversary.
According to the company, carbon neutrality forms part of a broader long-term decarbonisation strategy aimed at maintaining this status over time. The approach also extends to other areas of the business, including human resources, supply chain management and corporate governance.
Commenting on the milestone, Arkoslight CEO, Luis Latrás states: "Arkoslight’s DNA includes attention to detail in its products, quality and continuous improvement. These are values that have inevitably placed sustainability at the heart of our strategy, both in the medium and long term. Being a carbon-neutral company is a milestone that we celebrate and which, at the same time, prompts us to think about a future in which values will be intrinsically linked to growth."
[d]arc discussions: Liz West - Double Fizz
https://vimeo.com/1147825722?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci#t=0
[d]arc media editor Matt Waring talks to artist Liz West at her home studio in Macclesfield, UK, about her latest, immersive work of light art, Double Fizz, which is located at No. 1 St. Michaels in Manchester city centre.
The permanent installation comprises thousands of vibrantly coloured, vertical triangular stripes in polyester vinyl, overlaid onto a mirrored surface, creating a rich mix of reflected hues.
Over the course of the interview, West tells [d]arc media of the inspiration behind the piece, the challenges that came in bringing it to life, and the collaboration with formalighting to illuminate this beautiful new work of art.
Video filmed at edited by [d]arc media
Double Fizz images: Charles Emerson
Women in Lighting event images: Harley Bainbridge
Additional project images: Charles Emerson, Hannah Devereaux,
Music: FMS Team, courtesy of www.free-stock-music.com
Sustainable standout stands at LiGHT 25
LiGHT Expo London returned this November for its fourth, and most successful year to date, drawing thousands of visitors to the Business Design Centre over its two-day run. The event continues to expand, with a third hall introduced this year dedicated to technical products within the lighting sector. With this growth comes an inevitable increase in stands, materials, labour and energy required to build and dismantle installations.
Since Covid, however, the appetite for extravagant, show-boating stands – once a hallmark of trade shows such as Light + Building – has noticeably diminished. Designers are now prioritising the products themselves, while many exhibitors are looking to gain extra credit for embracing sustainable practices in their approach to trade shows. At LiGHT 25, several brands placed sustainability at the very heart of their stand design. Here, we highlight just a few of the exhibitors who championed renewable, responsible and eco-friendly solutions on the show floor.
formalighting’s stand at LiGHT 25 offered a masterclass in sustainable exhibition design, guided by a simple but powerful principle: toolless construction. As explained by Sharon Maghnagi, the company’s Global Operations Director, the entire structure was conceived to avoid drilling, painting or any chemical treatments that would limit the reuse of components.
“The main idea was no drills – toolless,” says Maghnagi. “Once a component is drilled for one configuration, you can’t recycle it for another.”
This pursuit of reusability shaped every element of the stand. Height adaptability was built in from the outset: a central post could be swapped out to move the structure from three metres down to 2.7 or 2.5-metres without altering the rest of the frame. Pre-existing holes within the framework allowed the ceiling height to be adjusted cleanly, eliminating the need for invasive fixes on-site.Even the finishes reflected this flexible, low-impact approach. Rather than using adhesives, the fabric walls were tucked into the edges of the frame. “It’s basically just fabric that’s tucked in… it’s not glued, it just slides in,” says Maghnagi as she demonstrated the mechanics of the frames. This allowed the stand to be assembled, dismantled and reassembled with minimal waste – and without compromising its crisp, modern appearance.
Despite a brief setback during build-up, when a structural engineer queried the stand’s freestanding design, the team resolved the issue quickly with support from neighbouring contractors. The experience highlighted not only the adaptability of the system but also the collaborative spirit of the show floor.
Where many exhibitors still default to single-use construction, Mesh took a refreshingly resourceful approach to their stand at LiGHT 25, one that embodied circular design in both concept and execution. Speaking with Mesh’s Director, Matilda Tierus, it was clear that their guiding principle was simple: nothing should be built for the bin. 
The stand’s most striking feature was its perimeter of rented living hedges, forming natural green walls that required no construction materials at all. Delivered, installed, and later collected by the rental company, who care for the plants year-round before ultimately selling them on for private gardens, they created a fully circular system with virtually zero waste. As Tierus notes, this effortless solution replaced the MDF (medium-density fibreboard), carpet, and paint she had seen discarded in vast quantities at major European trade fairs throughout her career.
Inside the stand, the philosophy continued. The central storage and display units were standard IKEA cupboards, chosen precisely because they could be reused rather than disposed of. Once the show closed, the pieces were immediately rehomed, this year the cupboards will be rehomed to one of her staff’s family garages to become long-term storage. Mesh’s vertical lighting columns also followed a low-impact lifecycle, constructed from 75% recycled aluminium and reused each year, with only the internal optics upgraded to showcase the latest technology.
Far from being a compromise, this sustainable approach proved to be a practical advantage. The hedge walls were installed in around 45-minutes, a fraction of the time required for a traditional build. The entire stand system was modular, making it easy to refresh year after year without scrapping materials. As Tierus explains, their intention was always “to reduce having anything on the stand that’s just going to get chucked away afterwards,” and LiGHT 25 showed how seamlessly that ambition could be achieved. 
Mesh’s stand was calm, green, and deceptively simple, but beneath that simplicity lay thoughtful, clever design. It demonstrated that sustainability need not be complicated, expensive, or showy; it can be quietly effective, delightfully practical, and, in Tierus’ words, “so cyclical and friendly.” It was a compelling reminder that exhibition architecture can be beautiful, responsible and sincere.
For XAL, sustainability is not a marketing veneer, but a structural principle woven into every element of their exhibition presence. As commercial manager, Joanne Welbon explained, the stand at LiGHT 25 had already lived a full life before arriving in London. Originally built for a show in Pakistan, it was simply reconfigured for this event, with new graphics and lighting applied to the original framework to reflect the IQ Lux brand, part of the group’s wider family. Rather than building afresh, XAL chose to rebuild again, extending the lifespan of a stand designed from the start to be reused.
That ethos echoed through their product display. One of the core fittings on the stand was designed under a ‘cradle-to-cradle’ philosophy, using no glue and requiring no tools for disassembly. If a component breaks, it is removed and replaced, rather than the entire fixture being discarded. “It just keeps going round and round,” Welbon notes proudly, an ethos the company clearly takes beyond the showroom and into its exhibition architecture.
Material sourcing was equally intentional. All the timber used on the stand came from certified sustainable forestry, ensuring that even the structural elements carried an ethical footprint. The logistical footprint was kept deliberately light too: the stand is stored locally rather than transported long distances, reducing emissions and avoiding unnecessary shipping. For international events, the company avoids sending the UK structure altogether; instead, overseas stands are managed and sourced through headquarters to prevent wasteful freight.
In one of the most charming examples of circular thinking, the packing crates used to transport the stand were simply turned upside down and repurposed as tables on the show floor. The only genuinely new additions were the graphics, freshly printed and applied to the existing boards after the originals were peeled away.
Transparency is another part of XAL’s sustainability identity. Their eco-pattern certification, an accolade held by just 1% of companies, was highlighted on the stand, alongside a QR code that linked directly to their publicly available sustainability report for independent scrutiny. Even a previous German stand has avoided the skip: once dismantled, its components were rebuilt into the company’s new showroom.
At LiGHT 25, XAL demonstrated that sustainability is not a standalone initiative; it’s a system. A structure reused across continents, products designed for endless repair, timber sourced responsibly, transport minimised, and even crates given second lives, all these gestures combined to create a stand that exemplified longevity, transparency and circular thinking. In a world where waste is often accepted as the cost of doing business, XAL offered a compelling alternative. 
XAL, Mesh and formalighting are just a few of the exhibitors who placed sustainability and adaptability at the forefront of their stand design this year. Honourable mentions also go to Phos and Stoane Lighting, both of whom consistently reuse materials and source ethically across every trade show they attend.
As LiGHT continues to grow, so too does its commitment to sustainable practice, extending even to its own reusable light-art installations, which return each year in new and imaginative forms. With the industry increasingly embracing circular design and low-impact thinking, there is every hope that LiGHT London may one day be recognised as the most sustainable trade show in the country – perhaps even the world – if the lighting community continues to build upon its collective eco-conscious foundations together.
HIX to launch HIX Europe in 2026
(UK) - HIX will relocate to ExCeL London from 2026, marking the next stage in the event’s development with the introduction of HIX Europe. The new format will take place on 25–26 November 2026 in East London and will bring together hotel design brands, professionals and ideas from across Europe.
HIX Europe is planned as a connected and curated campus-style event focused on hotel design and hospitality. The move to ExCeL London is intended to support broader European participation and improved accessibility for international visitors.
ExCeL London is served by the Elizabeth Line, providing direct connections to central London locations including Farringdon, Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street and Paddington. The venue is also accessible from Heathrow Airport and London City Airport, which offer direct flights to a number of European cities.
The event programme will include exhibitions, installations, talks and on-floor activations. Speakers will be selected by Sleeper Magazine from the AHEAD Awards’ international panel of judges and shortlisted hotel projects, with discussions expected to address design, development and wider hospitality trends.
As part of the wider campus, AHEAD Europe will take place at Magazine London on Thursday, 26 November 2026. The awards venue is located in Docklands, a short journey from ExCeL London by road or cable car. The proximity of the two events is intended to encourage crossover attendance among designers, operators, and developers.
ExCeL London is located within an area of East London that includes hotels, restaurants and riverfront venues, while Magazine London sits alongside the O2 Arena. Together, these locations will host HIX Europe and associated events across November 2026.