036 INTERVIEW / MIKE SIMPSON
“I WOULD LIKE TO
THINK THAT WE HAVE
RE-ESTABLISHED
THE LIGHTING
PROFESSION WITHIN
THE INSTITUTION AND
MADE FUNDAMENTAL
CHANGES THAT
WILL MAKE IT QUITE
DIFFICULT NOW TO
UNRAVEL OR FADE
AWAY.”
to take the lighting people out of Cibse and liaison group or lighting council – the name now greater confidence. This whole busi-
create one professional organisation. “But is still floating – that was established last ness of the merger has been going on for
as my apprenticeship went on, and I got year is a much more effective proposition. about ten years. The first time, those in
more and more involved with Cibse, I began “I began to see that it was important that favour of it didn’t really engage with Cibse,
to realise that actually if you looked at the we created something that involved more they just went off and attempted it. This
pure numbers, this wasn’t necessarily going unification within the profession rather than time the whole process was done with the
to add up.” doing something that appeared to be bring- full knowledge of the Cibse board and the
Although there are around 2000 people ing things together in name, but in practice executive. Having gone through that process
in the SLL, the majority were interested wasn’t going to achieve very much.” we’ve finally put that ghost to rest.”
in lighting but primarily concerned with The one thing that has emerged from this The society has also gained a stronger
building services. “The message they were umbrella group is the document featuring sense of the role it can play in promoting
giving me was that they weren’t going to guidelines for LED specification. But there sustainability. “It’s about making people
leave Cibse, but needed to have access to has been informal collaboration between aware of what lighting can deliver, which
lighting. The only people it was potentially the SLL, ILE, PLDA, IALD, LIF and LA for I see as being the largest contribution to
going to benefit were the pure lighters like some time and Simpson acknowledges the energy reduction in the built environment,”
myself. When it came down to it, and you group needs more impetus if it is going to says Simpson. “So the SLL has gone from not
started looking at the numbers, you were be effective as a single authoritative point quite knowing where they belong and not
probably talking say 200 or 300 people.” of contact for government, for example, an having a clear focus in terms of what they
Aside from the danger that this small band entity which has been crucially lacking. do, to the point where those two things
of SLL members would be subsumed by the “We’ve had to go through a period of dust have come together – they have a sense of
2000 ILE members, Simpson also felt that a settling. It’s early days and it’s developing. belonging and a sense of purpose.”
merger would, ironically, be divisive. “What The important thing is that we have a forum As president of Cibse, Simpson has had the
I could see happening was that rather than where all these people can sit down. It now golden opportunity to push the lighting mes-
unifying something we were going to create needs to move forward on a more constitu- sage within the institution. “As much as I’ve
even more splits,” he says. “We would have tional level. It needs a bit of pushing. That tried to learn about building services in gen-
had the unified professional body and some is my objective in the rest of my presiden- eral – which has been a really useful insight
sort of legacy organisation still within Cibse tial year and my year as past president. It because I now understand the much bigger
to support the building services people. has to be more than just a talking shop.” picture of how lighting fits into building
And even if you brought the SLL and ILE Simpson also believes that although the services – the other people in the institution
together, we really wouldn’t have created outcome was controversial, to say the least, that I’ve worked with over the past couple
any sort of unity because you’d still have all the process of the merger talks was one of of years have gained a much greater ap-
the independent designers in the PLDA and clarification for the SLL, a crucible out of preciation of lighting. I’d like to think that
IALD.” which a stronger society has emerged. by the time I’ve finished my turn, there will
He is firmly convinced that the lighting “To some extent it’s come of age. There is be a greater understanding of the part that
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