Specialist lectures, presentations and discussion panels encourage exchange and provide opportunities for personal encounters.
Design Plaza
The Design Plaza in Hall 3.1 B40 is a central lecture stage where a varied programme of events relating to lighting, architecture and design will take place on all six days of the fair. In addition to inspiring keynotes and talks on topics such as sustainability, efficiency and digital developments, the audience can look forward to exciting trend presentations every day and the ceremonial presentation of prestigious design awards.
Trendtalks
Every day, the style agency bora.herke.palmisano. highlights current trends and social developments in its trend talks that will significantly influence lighting design for the 2026/27 season.
Designplus Award by Light + Building Award Ceremony
The Designplus Award by Light + Building honours products that convincingly combine innovation, design quality, function and sustainability. Exhibiting companies can submit their pioneering solutions in several categories. The award is presented in cooperation with Stylepark. The award ceremony will take place on Sunday, 8 March, at the Design Plaza.
More about DesignplusArchitonic DAAily Live Talks
Architonic editor-in-chief Simon Keane-Cowell from the DAAily platform group explores the challenges and opportunities, as well as the latest developments and innovations in the world of lighting design and planning, in a series of lively and entertaining on-stage interviews with some of the best international A&D practitioners.
Talks & Tours by World-Architects
To help visitors find their way around the wide range of exhibits on offer, World-Architects invites them to Talks & Tours. Following an informative specialist presentation, international lighting experts will guide visitors to their personal highlights at the exhibition during Talks & Tours.
The tours start at the Design Plaza.
More about the Guided ToursLicht.de (ZVEI)
The Design Plaza will be all about light and lighting when the Lighting Association of the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI e.V.) takes to the stage. It will bring together lighting experts for panel discussions and presentations focusing on sustainability, efficiency and digitalisation.
IALD
The IALD – International Association of Lighting Designers will be presenting high-quality content at the Design Plaza for one day. The IALD Awards will also be presented.
More informationWomen in Lighting
On 8 March – International Women's Day – Women in Lighting will celebrate its long-standing presence at the trade fair and highlight projects, milestones and goals achieved by women in the lighting industry.
World Design Capital
Frankfurt RheinMain will hold the title of World Design Capital in 2026, transforming itself into an international stage for design. From architecture and mobility to education, the programme shows how design can shape our lives together and shape the future. The grand opening in January 2026 at the Museum of Applied Arts will kick off a year full of exhibitions, events and exchanges – ideal for design enthusiasts.
ZVEI Technology Forum – Industry in Dialogue
The Technology Forum offers a platform for dialogue-oriented knowledge exchange in Hall 12.1 D86. Presentations and discussions focus on electrification and digitalisation in the building sector.
Experts from ZVEI member companies will present innovative solutions and new standards across manufacturers – independently, thoroughly and practically. The forum is organised by ZVEI – the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association – in collaboration with Messe Frankfurt.
Exhibitor Stage
A new format was introduced at Light + Building 2024 with the Exhibitor Stage. Technical presentations, product presentations and practical solutions from exhibitors met with great interest from the audience. At Light + Building 2026, exhibitors will once again offer exciting insights into current developments, present innovative products and showcase application-oriented solutions for lighting and building technology on the stages in Hall 9.0 and Hall 4.1.
IEECB&SC’26 and European ESCO conference 2026 11 + 12 March 2026
The 13th International Conference on Improving Energy Efficiency in Commercial Buildings and Smart Communities (IEECB&SC’26) is organized in conjunction with the European ESCO Conference and will take place on 11 and 12 March in the Portalhaus, Level Via, Room Frequenz. Previous editions of the IEECB&SC conference have attracted key international researchers, experts, academics, manufactures, building owners, ESCOs, financers and policy makers on energy efficiency in non-residential buildings and smart communities, districts and cities.
The conference covers the topic of smart, sustainable and positive buildings, districts, communities and cities covering energy systems and services, efficient technologies, digitalization, renewable energies and optimized solutions at district or city level. The conference aims at attracting key international participants to allow exchanges of experiences and best practices among different regions, countries and continents.
Day one of the conference deals with technical issues related to high energy performance buildings and net zero emission buildings and smart positive districts and cities. Particular focus is also on energy efficiency in data centres.
Day two covers relevant EU and national policies needed to foster the building decarbonisation, financing investments, energy performance contracting, Energy Performance Contracting (ESCOs) and energy management.