Industry News

ArchLIGHT Summit, a new lighting trade event and educational platform for the architectural, specification and design communities, debuted at Dallas Market Center September 21-22, 2021 welcoming hundreds of lighting designers, architects, interior designers, specifiers and students to review new products, network, and attend a wide range of seminars. The next edition of the annual show will take place September 15-16, 2022.

ArchLIGHT Summit was the first commercial lighting event held in nearly two years and followed CDC guidelines for health and safety, building on Dallas Market Center’s 18-month track record of hosting safe and productive events for a variety of industries. The two-day ArchLIGHT Summit included the participation of 60 lighting brands as well as more than 40 educational sessions, along with networking events designed to build connections.

Said Cindy Morris, President and CEO of Dallas Market Center: “Thank you to our exhibitor partners and stakeholders in the commercial and architectural community for believing in what we have created: a forward-looking event that unites products, people, and purpose. We look forward to the 2022 edition.”

The expo portion of ArchLIGHT Summit on the first floor of the Trade Mart featured over 60 exhibitors representing all facets of the commercial lighting spectrum including Hubbell, Energy Focus, Pure Edge Lighting, Targetti, Impact Lighting, DMF Lighting, Focal Point, Intra-Lighting and Casambi.

Targetti CEO Marie Paris observed: “I thought the show was successful. It was nice to be back in person with clients after a long period. The show was well organized and poised to grow in the future, we look forward to participating again next year.” 

Added Peter Augusta, Vice President of Sales with Casambi, who also served as a speaker: “The ArchLIGHT Summit was a great success for Casambi with over 100 visitors who stopped by our both and two well attended breakout sessions. It can only get better and we are looking forward to participating next year.”

Additionally, several exhibitors with permanent showrooms at Dallas Market Center also had a presence on the show floor, including Accord Lighting, CSL, Eurofase, Hinkley, Hubbardton Forge, Legrand, Minka Group, Modern Forms, Satco Products, Sonneman – A Way of Light and WAC Lighting.

Andrew Knapp, Vice President of Sales for Hubbardton Forge, commented: “We appreciated the opportunity to host two CEU’s in our new showroom. Having this opportunity allowed us to explain our product and manufacturing capabilities which is done out of Vermont. It also broadened our reach with new customers to stay connected on current and future projects.”

ArchLIGHT Summit’s official agency partners Hossley Lighting and Power Solutions, and NexGen Lighting Solutions presented “neighborhoods” on the show floor of dozens of brands from their line cards.

Seminars and panel discussions updated attendees on evolving lighting solutions and addressed personal development, business optimization, and opportunities to explore diversity and inclusion within design-build disciplines. Unique hands-on demonstrations and other interactive platforms also engaged participants in new ways. Highlights included a Women in Lighting + Design (WILD) Welcome Party and Networking Breakfast, as well as sessions on topics including sustainability, diversity and inclusion, queer perspectives, and a particularly innovative session on color rendition, leveraging DMC’s display strengths in home and apparel categories.

Commented Tony Esposito, speaker and founder of Lighting Research Solutions: "Presenting at the ArchLIGHT summit was a real pleasure. The Dallas Market Center was impressive and the staff were kind, professional, responsive, and helpful! They constructed the most beautiful color rendering (TM-30) demo I have ever seen, and I am grateful to have been part of it. Their production quality is top-notch." 

ArchLIGHT Summit kicked off with a Welcome Party on September 20 hosted by WILD on the top of DMC’s World Trade Center building, offering spectacular views of the Dallas skyline at sunset. An opening party the following night provided attendees with the opportunity to explore participating permanent exhibitor showrooms while enjoying food, specialty cocktails and DJ entertainment. This event was themed DNA Discovery, playing off of the popular Design DNA light art installation that attracted attendees next to the Expo floor. The immersive experience, designed by Light Collective out of the United Kingdom, incorporated the modular LIGEO LED lighting system, which made its North American debut at ArchLIGHT Summit. Each participant received a unique display of lights based on their professional profile, driven by a database created by The Lighting Exchange, who programmed an Acuity Brands Fresco controller to represent this information in illumination. If you are curious how your professional data stacks up compared to others, you can still get that information without the light show here: https://mydesigndna.com/. And learn more about the entire international Design DNA initiative here: https://lightingdesignfamilytree.com/design-dna.html

ArchLIGHT Summit was co-located with Dallas Design Week, September 20-23, providing additional CEU and networking opportunities for attendees of both events. Dallas Market Center is the largest and most active design center in the country, with more than 1.5 million square feet of home décor showrooms in three buildings.

ArchLIGHT Summit organizers worked closely with an Advisory Board of distinguished industry leaders who provide valuable perspectives for shaping this groundbreaking event and its educational programming. Members include Francesca Bastianini, IES, principal of Sighte Studio; Craig A. Bernecker, Ph.D., founder of The Lighting Education Institute; Andrea Hartranft, FIALD, principal of Hartranft Lighting Design; Alyssa Humphries Stewart, director of the Center for Lighting Education at Texas Christian University; Alriah Hunt, specification sales rep at Architectural Lighting Alliance; Archit Jain, IALD, LEED SP, ISLA, principal of Oculus Light Studio; Kelly Roberts, LEED BD+C, IES, studio director of Wald Studio; and Laura McDonald Stewart, FASID, RID, LEED AP, WELL AP, founder and owner of Laura McDonald Enterprises and PLiNTH & CHiNTZ.

Association partners included American Lighting Association, Lighting Controls Association, National Lighting Bureau, North American Coalition of Lighting Industry Queers, and national and local chapters of Women in Lighting + Design.

Media Partners included Arc, Architectural Products, Architectural SSL, Building Design + Construction, Commercial Construction & Renovation, Darc, Designing Lighting, Edison Report, Energy Watch News, Furniture Lighting & Décor, Inside.Lighting, LEDs Magazine, Light Directory, The Lighting Exchange, Lightsearch.com, Lytei, and McMorrow Reports.

For more information, visit www.ArchLIGHTSummit.com, with live 2022 exhibitor registration available now and to sign up to receive information and announcements. Follow ArchLIGHT Summit on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn for the latest developments and information on exhibitor and attendee registration.

For information on Dallas Market Center, visit our website. In addition to hosting ArchLIGHT Summit, DMC hosts Lightovation, the largest residential lighting show in North America, whose next edition will take place January 6-9, 2022. Keep up-to-date on information about that event by following the Lightovation Facebook page and joining the Lightovation – Lighting Industry Discussion Group.

About Dallas Market Center

Dallas Market Center is a global business-to-business trade center and the leading wholesale marketplace in North America connecting retailers, interior designers, architects, and specifiers with top manufacturers in home décor, furniture, gifts, lighting and fashion. Inside its dynamic, five million square foot campus, nearly 200,000 customers from all 50 states and 85 countries seek industry trends, business education and new products from exhibitors throughout the year via dominant trade events for gift, home décor, holiday and floral; the nation’s most comprehensive apparel and accessories markets featuring the latest styles from East Coast and West Coast designers; the largest residential lighting trade event in North America; a new lighting event, ArchLIGHT Summit, for architects, specifiers, and designers; and the largest and most successful open-daily design center. The marketplace is located in the strongest economic zone in the country. In addition, more than 80 percent of Dallas Market Center buyers report that they do not shop other market centers. To make plans for upcoming markets, visit the Dallas Market Center website and download the Dallas Market Center and Lightovation Apps. Also, keep up-to-date on all information by visiting Dallas Market Center and ArchLIGHT Summit on social media.