A big part of the PLDC experience takes place outside of the conference venue and leads designers on adventures around the host city.  With a fully packed evening programme of events there wasn’t much time to rest.

After a brief escape for dinner and a drink or two, after an intensive first day everyone converged for another organised ‘get-together’ and networking evening around the hotel pool, after the dance floor shutting then carrying on inside at the main hotel bar… for some into early hours of the morning.

One of the most popular excursions was Osram’s visit to the Sistine Chapel to view the new LED lighting scheme. Osram developed a luminaire specifically for this project which allowed the colour temperature of the light to be tuned in accordance to the artwork.  This allows the lighting to correctly render the colours with each section of the artwork.  It was almost like painting with light, an idea that I think Michael Angelo would have approved of.  

Not to be outdone, ERCO hosted an evening starting off with drinks, which included more of a feast than a buffet, at the rooftop bar of the Terrazza Caffarelli. The views over Rome were stunning and showed the city off to it’s best in the evening light. Following this was a guided tour of the Imperial Forums by the lighting designers Francesca and Vittorio Storaro who undertook the lighting of this monumental attraction.  An interesting combination of neutral and warm white has been carefully selected to emphasise certain architectural characteristics of the ruins, giving a beautiful experience of discovery with light.

Not forgetting that it was Halloween, Xicato hosted a ‘Party To Die For’ at the Nur Bar.

The big finale to the close the conference was the Gala Dinner, held at the impressive Cinecitta film studios where many famous movie productions have been filmed. From Ben Hur and La Dolce Vita to the latest Bond movie Spectre, the venue has seen many a legendry event. The Gala Dinner was also the opportunity to recognize outstanding achievements in Architectural Lighting Design oer the past two years.

Over the course of the evening ACT lighting hosted a dramatic show of sound and light. I was fortunate enough to be sitting next to one of the guys from ACT, who very kindly answered my questions about the scheme, down to the mysterious control of the candles over the evening’s performance… (wireless DMX technology).

The entertainment didn’t stop here, UV body paint had been placed on each table, moving through to the after party next door the range of artistic talents came to life under the UV light. 

Not to forget an all-time lighting designers favourite, iGuzzini hosted photo green screen.

Returning tired, but inspired, we look forward to the next instalment in 2 years time!

Next PLDC Paris 2017.