Up Close with
PAULA LONGATO LIGHTING TEAM LEAD, BURO HAPPOLD, EUROPE/BERLIN From Brazil to Berlin—A Journey in Light I didn’t come from a family of architects or designers—far from it. My background is business, thanks to my family in São Paulo. But I knew early on that architecture was what I wanted to pursue. Then, by complete chance, I discovered lighting. While studying architecture in Brazil, I was looking for an internship. The only ad on the board that day was from a lighting design firm. That’s how it all started—completely by accident. It was a small practice focused on residential projects and restaurants, but it’s where I learned everything on the job. We weren’t just specifying luminaires—we were designing them from scratch, especially for hospitality spaces. Back then, almost everything was halogen. That hands-on experience was my entry point. Later, I wanted to broaden my understanding of construction, so I worked for a building company, again mostly on residential and restaurant refurbishments. It exposed me to more architectural aspects, but I kept one foot in lighting. Eventually, I felt the pull back to lighting design. This time, I wanted to go deeper. That led me to Germany in 2006 to pursue a master’s in lighting design at Hochschule Wismar. After graduating, I joined Arup in Berlin and later spent time with them in London. At Arup, I worked on everything from bespoke residential homes to masterplans and airports. What struck me immediately was the design process—it was a revelation. In Brazil, lighting design meant putting dots on a floorplan. At Arup, we built mockups, scale models, ordered samples. I realized then that you can’t rely on renderings or plans alone. You have to see the light. Mockups became fundamental to my process. To this day, I tell my team: ask for the sample. Always. There's no substitute for physically experiencing light in a space. We even built a small darkroom at the office to test lighting setups. From paper and cardboard models, we are starting to integrate 3D printed
architectural models into our mockups. Architects are already doing this, so why not us? Even when using full-sized fixtures with scaled-down models, it helps us understand how light interacts with form. It’s tactile. It’s necessary. That hands-on mindset also led us toward sustainability. About six years ago, when I started building our Europe team in Berlin, my team colleagues encouraged us to look critically at our practices. It was clear we needed to change. Over the next two to three years, we developed our Sustainability Lighting Roadmap—a framework guiding how we approach sustainability across every project phase. We’ve collaborated with manufacturers, sustainability experts, and clients to better understand lighting’s environmental role—especially daylight, which still doesn’t get the attention it deserves. I'm now part of a group of daylight advocates. We’re creating accessible information to help non-specialists— clients, users—better understand the power of daylight. At the same time, I’ve started taking apart luminaires in the office. Literally. When manufacturers send us samples, I ask, “Can I open this?” I want to see how they’re built. How easy would it be for a facility manager to replace a component ten years from now?
that can’t be replaced or sourced. I remember a gallery project where, years almost 20 years later, the original Erco spotlights were still working— because the owner retrofitted them with E27 LED lamps and the luminaires were in very good shape. That’s a sustainability win. We don’t have all the answers yet. But we’re asking better questions: How can lighting remain flexible over a building’s lifespan? Can it adapt to new users or changing needs without full replacement? I believe we must think systemically and rethink our relationship to the objects we specify, how they will be used, by whom and for how long. And not to forget, what happens next? If I have one piece of advice for those entering this field, it’s this: stay curious. Be relentless in your questioning. Understand how things work—take them apart if you must. Ask why. Ask what’s inside. Ask what happens after 10 years. Today, lighting design isn’t just about creating beautiful atmospheres. It’s about understanding environmental data, navigating circular economies, and adapting to AI, metrics, legislation and the social aspect of lighting and sustainability. Yes, the learning curve is steep. But if you stay curious, it never stops being rewarding. ■
At first, manufacturers were baffled. Some didn’t even bring a screwdriver. One even said, “Why open it? Just throw it away—it’s cheap.” That tells you everything. But we began documenting what we found. Which designs are serviceable, which aren't. Which brands understand product lifecycle—and which treat lighting as disposable. The top-tier manufacturers get it. The cheaper ones? Not so much. We're not trying to save the world overnight, but we are trying to move the industry and the lighting community forward. And it’s working. We’ve seen manufacturers rethink design, embrace modularity, and in some cases, adopt circularity principles. Still, too many luminaires are glued shut, with parts designing lighting global
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