Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

‘Lightplay’ in Torquay is a lit route that works in perfect harmony with the town’s Royal Terrace Gardens. Designed by Michael Grubb Studio, the illuminated walkway brings together the themes of nature, wellbeing, and ecology, and enhances the outdoor space offered along the seafront. In this talk, Michael Grubb shares the inspiration behind the project, the beauty of the landscaping and how the area is now celebrating the natural world.

Light is a crucial component in placemaking after dark. It plays a vital role in transforming what could be a threatening environments into safe, vibrant and delightful spaces with real economic benefits. Here Melissa Byers, Head of Bournemouth Studio, Michael Grubb Studio, explores some of the practice’s exemplar projects where light has been transformational.

We are all trying to be “more sustainable” in both our personal lives and in business, but when it comes to commercial projects what does this look like? Through this session, our experts will leave audiences with key pointers, or ‘questions’ to consider when working on a project for it to be as green as is realistic.

Lighting design plays a crucial role in creating the desired ambiance and atmosphere for any space, be it residential, commercial, or public. With rapid advancements in technology, lighting design has evolved to become more than just a functional necessity but a critical aspect of interior and exterior design. Architects and designers must stay up to date with the latest trends in lighting design to create visually appealing, energy-efficient, and sustainable spaces that meet the needs of their clients. This panel discussion will explore the latest trends in lighting design and how architects and designers can leverage them to create spaces that are both aesthetically pleasing and functional.

Join Michael Grubb as he offers thoughtful insights into the future of lighting and how lighting designers can steer the course of the industry towards energy saving and sustainability.

These key topics are showcased through the innovative and award-winning West Downs Campus, University of Winchester project, a state-of-the-art facility for learning and teaching. Michael Grubb Studio’s lighting design created a welcoming environment that supports wellbeing, celebrates the architecture of the building and enhances the use of the space through thoughtful design and smart technology. Each space is fully configurable via the lighting control system, sensors and dimmers transition lighting from bright daylight to evening use, and pre-set and customisable scenes bring lectures and presentations to life.

As the founder and managing director of Michael Grubb Studio, Michael Grubb has worked on a wide range of landscape projects across the world. In this talk, he shares his insights and experiences of illuminating landscapes across a number of projects such as the acclaimed Cloudy Bay Discovery Pavilion at the 2013 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the Royal Terrace Gardens in Torquay and Claremont Park, part of the £7 billion Brent Cross Town development.

This panel will discuss what it takes to become established in the world of design; whether the opportunities presented are always fair and available to all; and what lead designers could do to promote marginal groups within design.

Michael captivated the audience at the AIDI 2022 National Congress in Naples with his insightful outline of The Future of Lighting Design.

What is the impact of digital transformation on the lighting industry? What will the role of lighting design be in the future? How can lighting designers influence the adoption of the circular economy? These are some of the key topics Michael Grubb discussed.

Image credit: Raffaele Ferraro

As a key note speaker, Michael held his talk with a range of specifiers in attendance, as he spoke about his multiple award winning project, Bath Abbey.

Bath Abbey achieved incredible success at this years [d]arc awards, winning not only the Places – High Budget category, the project was awarded the coveted ‘Best of the Best’ award.

This award is given to the project that received the most amount of votes out of all the project category winners.

Michael captivated the audience at the Surface Design Show at the Business Design Centre in London with the story of Lightplay.

Influenced by the desire to forever capture the ethos and ambience associated with sunset, Michael told the story of how our studio collaborated with the local community to create Lightplay – an interactive and playful backdrop to Royal Terrace Gardens in Torquay.

To read more about our recent project, click here.

The paper will raise an awareness of the journeys of other art forms whilst encouraging contemplation on how this can be related to lighting. Lighting designers will be inspired to consider new ways to approach the lighting of spaces which historically regularly follow a ‘set approach.’

Greta presented her talk, “Educating Retail Clients” which built upon research undertaken and presented at PLDC 2018, Singapore. The result being the successful creation and implementation of a sustainable spotlight, as well as the establishment of a circular economy with major retail client, LUSH.

The lighting design industry and evolved significantly over the last 20 years, but are lighting design practices moving with the times or is there an alternative way of working? Michael Grubb will present an alternative guide based on how he built his practice, case studying various projects and how they materialised.

Stuart’s talk focused on the production of new wireless technologies in architectural lighting and questioned whether this technology is succeeding in replacing the humble cable. The talk was streamed live – and as you can see he even made a t-shirt for the occasion.

Greta Smetoniute & Matt Waugh have taken on their own side project to identify the amount of embodied energy that goes into producing luminaires, with the objective of trying to fully understand the potential of producing a 100% sustainable product. The paper will share the results and offer ideas for the future.

Stuart will be presenting ‘What’s Light got to do with it? What’s Light but a second hand experience?’ – which will look at some of our most recent public realm lighting schemes and how we turned unnoticed spaces into places.

The internet changed everything. Online and Offline were once two very separate worlds. But with the rise of e-commerce and in particular mobile e-commerce, the distinction between online and offline is blurring rapidly. Those brands that can seamlessly integrate the online and in-store environments to create experiences on interaction, not just transaction will be those who are here for the long term.

Michael will present what it takes to be a lighting designer in the modern age. Michael will showcase the journey his studio has taken and how adopting a ‘think, play, produce’ mindset unlocks creativity and produces enhanced lighting design schemes.