LEADING LIGHT
Lighting experts need to communicate their knowledge clearly, and for the digital age, insists the new president of the Society of Light and Lighting. Jill Entwistle reports
Clarity of message and an understanding of how to use the communication tools of today were vital if the Society of Light and Lighting (SLL) was to remain effective as an expert lighting community, said Iain Macrae as he took over the reins from Peter Raynham as the society’s president.
Macrae, currently head of global lighting applications management at Thorn, echoed a point made by new CIBSE president David Fisk in his own address. ‘He suggests we face a challenge: while the artists and
decorative designers among our society may be able to use concepts, flowery
practice of the art and science of lighting’.
‘The credentials of an organisation such as the SLL mean its members are seen as knowledgeable, expert, a good source of information. Lighting experts will always have a value’
language and play to others’ appreciation of the aesthetic, those of us who deal with engineering the built environment need to be clear. ‘To quote David, “If engineering institutions fail to comprehend that good engineering requires tight language not diffuse ideas, we are in trouble”. And so, as part of CIBSE, the SLL has to face up to this challenge too.’
Knowledge and expertise also had to be passed on ‘in a world where printed text is less important than blogging, video and sound bites,’ he said. ‘New media essentially is taking the world forward at a stupendous pace.’
A community of lighting experts, represented by the SLL, was essential to perpetuate knowledge within today’s global culture, said Macrae. Guides such as the Code for Lighting were acknowledged as the leading publications on lighting, but in a global market, where standards move closer, they needed to attract a wider audience, argued Macrae, becoming more international in focus ‘while still distilling the
14 CIBSE Journal July 2012
‘This is no easy task, not just generating the information, but protecting its value and exploiting our members’ expertise to share the information. We are reminded that the SLL as a learned society exists as an organisation where people who work with light can meet, socialise and exchange information. To reflect this global audience, we need to embrace all media sources to get our message across.’
It was not just a matter of adopting and adapting to new ways of
communicating its expertise, said Macrae, but also realising that this implied a fundamental shift in the way that the SLL operated, including revenue generation. ‘Just as technology is changing the world, it will change this society, not in its fundamental reason for existence, but in the way it engages with the community, the way it communicates, the way it publishes and perhaps the way it makes money.’
The SLL has traditionally depended on membership subscriptions and its publications to create income, but it might be unwise to rely on that in the future, he said. ‘We need to plan financially for the changes we could face.’
The CIBSE Knowledge Portal was a good example of new thinking in media, said Macrae. It clearly benefited members, but was also an indicator of the change that will ultimately lead to more electronic publication, to a wider and more international audience and to challenges of digital content and its associated demands. ‘We have a clear timetable for the coming years of
SLL AWARDS WINNERS
Iain Macrae delivered his address in the Huxley Lecture Theatre, at London Zoo, where the annual SLL awards were also presented. This year’s Lighting Award went to John Mardaljevic, Reader in Daylight Modelling at De Montfort University and current chairman of the CIE Technical Committee 3-47: Climate Based Daylight Modelling.
‘In this area he has shown world-class leadership and I suspect in future he will be credited with facilitating a step change in the practical analysis and prediction of daylight within buildings,’ said Stephen Cannon- Brookes in his citation. Brendan Keely, who heads up BDP Lighting’s northern office in Manchester, was given this year’s Regional Award. He became the SLL’s regional lighting rep for the north west in 2003. ‘His passion and commitment to the SLL has been evident throughout his BDP career,’ said Barrie Wilde, former head of BDP Lighting, who gave the citation. ‘He has helped build a lighting community in the north.’ The Leon Gaster Award went to Alice Agogino and Yao-Jung Wen for their paper on the control of wireless-networked lighting in open- plan offices. Mark Rea, John Bullough and Leora Radetsky received the Walsh Weston Award for their paper on modelling outdoor lighting scene brightness. Representatives of the SLL’s current sponsors – Wila Lighting, Trilux, Tridonic, Philips and Thorn – were also given Sponsors in Partnership certificates. Dr Kevin Kelly, SLL president-elect, chaired the evening, which also included an introduction to the new Code for Lighting by Peter Raynham.
what needs to be written, and by when. This year we have to set the strategy over how to publish and when one format takes over from another.’
It was in the spirit of SLL co- founder Leon Gaster to embrace this change, argued Macrae. But it was also important to be aware that by widening access to information, there was a danger of losing ownership and that it was crucial to protect its value. ‘In the same way that music and video are sought as free commodities by vast numbers of the population, so is lighting knowledge. The mindset is growing that it doesn’t hurt to steal intellectual rights, designs, words and product.
‘But there is an intrinsic value in a brand, and information
that comes from that brand still carries weight. The credentials of an organisation such as the SLL mean its members are seen as knowledgeable, expert, a good source of information. Lighting experts will always have a value.’ The lobbying for changes to Part L by key SLL members and other lighting groups was a prime example of the value and need for that expertise, he argued, turning opinion to the point where a future based on energy use is a likely outcome for Part L rather than simple efficacy.
‘It demonstrated clearly to those involved that expertise in lighting, not just energy, is vital to the debate,’ said Macrae. ‘We need to continue emphasising why lighting is important in the eyes of legislators.’ CJ
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