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On February 2nd, Philips Lumec’s CLU Foundation launched the 2011-2012 edition of its annual contest.
This year’s theme is LIGHTITUDE – Lighting urban areas above the polar circle. For this year’s edition, the Fondation Concept Lumière Urbaine (CLU Foundation) asks participants to submit proposals regarding lighting in communities near the polar circle. People who live in those remote areas of the globe have particular sunshine conditions. Can these isolated communities, often nomadic, benefit from a redesigned lighting, offering them the opportunity to develop a way of life adapted to their needs and their northern identity? Light, an essential energy in life for most living organisms, has important effects on living beings. How can outdoor lighting products participate in the life of these communities?
Since 2004, Philips Lumec’s CLU Foundation strives for excellence by promoting a conscientious integration of quality plastic products, the technological advancement in outdoor lighting and also the respect for the environment. These concepts are always applied in a creative context based solely on outdoor lighting.
Did you know that the CLU Foundation gives more than $ 5 000 in prize money and endorsements to the winners? And were you also aware that the CLU Foundation is open to all students and young professionals with up to five years of experience in industrial design, urban planning, environmental design, engineering, architecture and landscape architecture? It is in fact a contest to encourage the next generation of professionals.
There are many reasons to submit your projects and innovative ideas for this year’s theme. Here are just a few:
- It is a great opportunity to showcase your true potential to professionals in the industry;
- You have a chance to win one of three grants totalling $ 5 000;
- You project will be seen internationally because of Philips’ reputation.
Needless to say that Philips Lumec is a proud partner to the CLU Foundation. Each year, we are more and more impressed by the depth of ideas and the quality of the projects that are submitted. The members of the CLU Foundation and guest juries are mostly professionals in the industry of outdoor lighting. And without a doubt: being a witness of the brilliant creativity shown by the new generation of professionals in lighting remains yet again a privilege for each of them.
So do not hesitate to submit your creative projects under the theme LIGHTITUDE – Lighting urban areas above the polar circle!
Curious to see the creativity of our past winners? Here are the winners of the 2010-2011 edition. The theme then was Light it for Humanity.
LightPot by Ninad V. Jogdand from Pune, India
The proposed solution entitled LightPot takes into account complex concepts such as the industrial context, the urban area and the poverty in developing countries. This is an interesting example to show how to transform a constraint into a potential. In addition to having presented a project of a higher difficulty level, Ninad V. Jogdand seized an opportunity by reusing energy generated on site for other purposes. To read an interview with Ninad V. Jogdand, you just have to click on the link below.
Buoyant Light by Claire Lubell and Virginia Fernandez from Ontario, Canada
The project entitled Buoyant Light unveils a community that is too often forgotten, and that is the Nordic region. The idea illustrated in this project combines humans and their environment, demonstrating a subtle example of humanity. This project shows excellent technical and theoretical research skills. If you want to read an interview with those two winners of last year’s edition, click on the link below.
Sensible Light by Park Daekwon from Massachusetts, USA
What particularly charmed the jury concerning this project was the reinterpretation of evenings around a campfire. Let us remember that not so long ago, the ancestors of a community shared their stories with the next generation sitting around this imperishable kind of light source. The interactivity, the communication and also the community aspects are all well represented in this project, in addition to being an interesting translation of what our 2010-2011 theme was. Again, to read the interview we conducted with Park Daekwon, all you have to do is click on the link below.
Survivances by Elodie Stephan from the Île-de-France, France
The jury emphasized the originality of this project. Elodie Stephan presented a solution that builds on the functioning of living beings to better integrate human technology. This represents a new approach in the way of seeing and appreciating the value of nature. The link below will take you to an interview with Elodie Stephan.
To learn more about this year’s CLU Foundation, visit our website: http://www.lumec.com/company/fondation_clu.html
