FONDATION CLU 2010-2011 EDITION_THEME : LIGHT IT FOR HUMANIT

FRIENDLY PUBLIC LIGHTING: SERVING THE WORLD POPULATION

The Context

The need for public lighting is constantly evolving on the planet and follows the phenomenon of urban development. If, in 1800, only 2% of the world population lived in urban areas, today, the urban population equals and will soon exceed the rural population in the world. If, until the mid-twentieth century, the majority of the world's urban population was concentrated in developed areas of North America and Europe, urban growth has now shifted to development areas. You should know that by 2030, over 80% of the global urban population is expected to be concentrated in Asia, Africa as well as in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Where can we find users of street lighting? Today, the majority of the world's urban population resides in small and medium towns and most city dwellers live in smaller cities. About 16% of city dwellers live in cities of more than 5 million inhabitants. An important data indicates that in 2007, over 30% of the world's urban population - 1 billion people - lived in shanty towns, 90% of them located in development areas. These findings indicate that one out of three city dweller lives in a shanty town.

More and more frequently, natural disasters disrupt entire, and often densely populated, regions; populations see their infrastructure destroyed and must live through a lengthy rebuilding process. These people then have to rely on public lighting as a light source for their safety, their economic lives and their collective activities. Let’s not forget that the most heavily populated areas are located in the warmer regions of the planet; where people live a lot at night when the temperature is milder.

For all those people devoid of a reliable source of energy and light, lighting can ensure wealth for all.

Not just a dream

It is exciting to imagine that public lighting can be a source of conviviality, of procurement, and a means to share lighting as a resource; it can become an anchorage in the city, a gathering point for the community. In fact, it is possible to assign to outdoor lighting the social role of designing strategic sites for "light sources" - streets, squares, intersections, outdoor markets, parks .As the fountain where people meet to draw water, public lighting can play the same role and provide other gathering points.

Design is at the service of man. Never was an assertion more justified then now. Access to a light source is a valuable asset to any community. We need only note that in less than 10 years, the cell phone has revolutionized communications in all countries and especially in developing countries. We can see changes in our habits and our outlook on the nature of public lighting. It is within this social / economic / environmental context that the theme Light it for Humanity / L'humanité mise en lumière proposes to change the fate of many populations in the world through your creative solution, to offer comfort, safety, sustainability and quality of public lighting to people that are deprived of it or who rarely enjoy it. With this contest we want to question our traditional ways to provide lighting to the greatest number of people.

The Contest

With this contest, the CLU Foundation wishes to give new meaning to public lighting and provoke the emergence of sensitivity to the need of mankind to benefit from the available light, to share and take ownership. The boundary between street lighting and the user can disappear to become the service point of luminous energy to the whole community. Public lighting is a response to the needs of human beings, and your solutions will be the answer.

The challenge this year is to design lighting solutions that can be shared and meet the most daring expectations:

•A central gathering point
•A Source and connection accessible to the entire community
•A Realization that supports the vitality of social exchange
•A viable alternative to the use of other fuels (gasoline, wood, etc.).
•An economical design with regard to materials and components (3R), that is also aesthetically and culturally meaningful
These guidelines are provided to get you started. Send us your dreams and the CLU foundation will be honored to receive them.

Grants
The grants will be awarded based on merit by the Philips Lumec CLU committee. This committee is composed of engaged professionals from within the Quebec community of creators and designers and aims social harmony by the quality of the built environment. Laureates will be selected from all received applications. The 2008-2009 edition includes three (3) prizes distributed as follow :

First Prize 2 500$ or a 12 weeks training course* with the industrial design and engineering teams of Philips Lumec
Second Prize 1 500$
Third Prize 1 000$
* The training course is remunerated. Conditions may apply.
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Schedule

Launch of the 2010-2011 Edition: Januray 10th, 2011
Date for submission: May 2nd, 2011
Jury Session: May 25th, 2011
Laureates Announcement: June 2nd, 2011

http://www.lumec.com/company/fondation_clu.html