Workshops

Step into the Lighting Controls Escape Room a fast-paced, hands-on workshop where attendees work in teams to solve real-world lighting controls failures before time runs out. Instead of sitting through another lecture, participants diagnose broken sequences, sensor conflicts, interface issues, and scope gaps using live controls setups and realistic project scenarios. Expand your knowledge with real challenges that make lighting controls projects succeed or fail.

Learning Objectives

• Identify common lighting controls failures involving sensors, dimming, programming, wiring, and system coordination.
• Diagnose the likely cause of a control problem using a structured troubleshooting process and live system feedback.
• Correct basic configuration, programming, and device-setting issues to restore the intended sequence of operation
• Explain how clear design intent, documentation, and coordination among project teams can prevent common controls problems.

This workshop is intended to introduce interior designers to lighting as a tool that shapes how spaces are perceived and experienced. It emphasizes moving beyond fixture selection to using light intentionally to define zones, highlight areas, and create spatial hierarchy through contrast, brightness, and shadow. We will explore layered design strategies including using ambient, accent and task lighting to balance functionality with atmosphere, while also learning how color temperature, intensity, and distribution influence mood, comfort, and behavior. Attendees will learn how thoughtful lighting design can transform interiors into dynamic, human-centered environments that support both aesthetic intent and everyday use.

So, you are thinking you would like to write the NCQLP LC Exam. It is administered once a year, the first two weeks of November. It is a hard exam which is rewarding upon completion. But are you ready? This presentation will take you through what you need to know BEFORE applying to sit for the exam, registering for an LC Study Group (critical for success), or start studying on your own. This is NOT meant to replace a study group or serious study. This will give you an idea on what to expect on the path to becoming Lighting Certified. NOTE: This presentation is a roadmap to what is required to write the exam. It does not replace serious studying or replace the importance of participating in a study group.

Learning Objectives

• Upon completion, the attendee will understand what is required to write the LC Exam
• Upon completion the attendee will be familiar with the required reading for a success attempt at the exam.
• Upon completion the attendee will be aware of the IES Study Group that is set up each year and the importance of participating in some form of group study.
• Upon completion, the attendee will be more informed as to their readiness to take the exam.

Turn everyday lighting-industry challenges into practical AI-powered solutions. In this hands-on workshop, participants will identify time-consuming tasks, explore how AI can streamline workflows, and build a functional tool tailored to their needs. Guided by Co-founder and CEO of Sourcery, Paul Boken, you’ll move beyond AI theory to create something useful, test it, and take it back to your practice. Whether you’re looking to automate repetitive work, improve efficiency, or rethink how technology can support your workflow, this interactive hackathon is designed to help you build, experiment, and leave with something that actually works.

This advanced, hands-on workshop challenges you to move beyond theory and apply integrative lighting principles to a real-world design scenario — from brief to budget to final presentation. Led by Dawn Brown (OALD) and Alicia Davila Monterrey (HLB), two of Canada's leading voices in wellness lighting, this session is built for experienced practitioners who are ready to sharpen their skills under realistic conditions.

Working in small collaborative teams, participants will navigate a complete lighting design process — analyzing architectural drawings, developing a design strategy, selecting from a curated product library, and running photopic, melanopic, and UGR calculations using AGi32. Every decision will be evaluated against the kind of competing demands engineers face in practice: client goals, code compliance, human performance targets, and project budget.

The workshop follows a structured seven-step design methodology, with instructors guiding teams through project requirements, the CIE Toolbox S 026 for determining Daylight Equivalence Ratio (DER) values, and hands-on calculation practice. Teams will be scored across five dimensions — strategy, aesthetics, melanopic performance, UGR outcome, and affordability — making for a genuinely competitive and engaging experience.

Whether you're looking to build confidence with MEDI-based design targets or deepen your fluency with integrative workflows, this workshop delivers the kind of applied, peer-learning experience that a lecture simply can't replicate.