Light + Intelligent Building Middle East arc’s Editor Matt Waring and Junior Journalist Ellie Walton share their thoughts of this year’s Light + Intelligent Building Middle East, held in Dubai this January.
There is an ancient saying that says ‘three times makes a tradition’, and if this is the case, then I guess it is now a tradition that I open my year with a trip to Dubai for Light + Intelligent Building Middle East. While January of 2026 marked my third time at the fair, it was the 19th edition of the popular “curtain raiser” of the lighting design calendar, further establishing its position as one of the leading events for lighting and building technology in the MENA region. The popularity of the event was evident to see, as it brought together more than 16,000 visitors from across 95 countries over the course of its three days. Among these was a strong contingent from the international lighting design community, with designers and manufacturers coming from far and wide to connect, and in some cases (particularly those of us from Northern Europe), get some much-needed January sunshine. Integral to the show’s success, alongside its exhibition space, was its expansive talks programme; spread across three stages – ThinkLight, InSpotLight, and the Smart Building Summit – the varied programmes boasted a diverse array of speakers from all around the world (including a certain lighting design magazine editor…), giving attendees plenty of inspiring and informative content to mull over. The Smart Building Summit brought together policymakers, standards bodies, and technology and sustainability leaders to explore how regulation and innovation are accelerating the adoption of intelligent, energy-efficient buildings. ThinkLight, curated by Light Collective, provided a platform for regional and international lighting professionals to exchange insights through new formats, including the Design Deep Dive, Project Perspectives, and Conversations in Light. Finally, InSpotLight looked to showcase the latest developments in lighting technology and design, including The Specifiers’ Area, where shortlisted companies presented their products live on stage, as part of the final judging stages of the Light Middle East Awards, which closed out the show on its final night. As in previous visits to the fair, my aim was to divide my time between the ThinkLight and InSpotLight
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stage – a task made easier this year as I was glad to be joined by [d]arc media Junior Journalist Ellie Walton (you can read all about her perspectives of the show later on). So, with notebooks at the ready, we were both keen to get to the International Trade Center to see what this year’s show had to offer. Opening proceedings on the ThinkLight stage, Light Collective’s Martin Lupton introduced the overall theme for the stage – Vision to Impact: From Inspiring Ideas to Lasting Legacies – before introducing its first speaker. Ziad Fattouh, CoFounder of Delta Lighting Solutions took the audience on a “lighting journey of the Middle East”, examining the rate of growth not just in Dubai, but across the Gulf region. As one of the first lighting design studios with a permanent base in Dubai, Fattouh explained how Delta Lighting Design has taken what it has learned internationally, before applying it to a local context. Under the belief that lighting designers “are there to create some magic”, Fattouh detailed the studio’s expansion in the region, from its initial projects in retail and residential spheres, to mega projects and mixeduse developments that require a great deal more cross-coordination, and how with every project, especially as they get bigger and more complex, there are lessons to be learned that can be taken forward to future projects. On the subject of projects in the region, following Fattouh was the ThinkLight stage’s first Product Perspectives session. On the subject of ‘Heritage and Cultural Spaces’, here, four designers offered insights into specific projects. First up, Michael Grubb talked about exhibition and gallery lighting, and of how lighting can “enhance the story behind the artefacts on display”. This was demonstrated by his studio’s work on the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Visitor Centre in Abu Dhabi, and how the team worked to ensure that this was “in keeping” with the broader storytelling of the Grand Mosque, and its original lighting scheme from Speirs Major Light Architecture. Grubb was followed by Lama Arouri, Managing Director of Studio N, who explained how lighting became “the essence” of the design of the Mosque of Light – a beautifully restrained, minimalist piece of architecture in Dubai, designed by Dabbagh Architects. Reflecting on this project, Arouri said