arc Aug/Sep 2020 – Issue 117

Come one, come all…
We’re gearing up for the very first [d]arc room livestream…

After nearly five months of lockdown in the UK, it seems that we may slowly be starting to see the green shoots of recovery, with some of the restrictions that we’ve grown accustomed to of late starting to be lifted – bars are back open, as well as restaurants and gyms. I even went to the cinema last weekend!
Alongside this, a few of us have started to return to the office in some capacity. I’ve spent a few days back at arc HQ, more for a change of scenery than anything else, but while it was nice to return to something close to resembling “normal”, I’ll admit that I’ve got very used to working from home now, with the big window by my desk, the odd break to play with my cat, and all the other home comforts that you don’t get at work.
With that in mind, in this issue of arc, we’ve opened up the debate on what the future of the workspace will be in a post-Covid world. Whether we’ll see more social distancing measures introduced, or fewer people actually going into the office now that we’ve all realised how productive working from home can actually be, the landscape of workspace design will no doubt be affected in some way, which could impact on how we light these spaces in the future. In this debate, I sat down with Helen Diemer of The Lighting Practice, Karsten Ehling of Lichtvision, Martina Alagna of Nulty, Scott Herrick from Spark Studio Lighting Design, and Brad Koerner of Cima, to get their opinions on what the future will hold. It’s a fascinating discussion, which I hope that you all enjoy. (Stay tuned for a follow-on panel discussion, coming soon to arc tv!)
Elsewhere, you’ll hopefully have seen that we, alongside Light Collective, have officially launched [d]arc room livestream, an online version of our popular [d]arc room event. Held over three days from 16-18 September, the global lighting design conference and forum will feature a stacked lineup of speakers from across the lighting design spectrum, while the unique platform will allow for interaction between participants and the audience all over the world. We were obviously incredibly disappointed to postpone the physical event this year, but we’re really excited about the possibilities that [d]arc room livestream will bring, and we hope you’ll all join us!

In the meantime, stay safe, wear a mask and enjoy the issue!

Matt Waring
Editor
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