Jan 22 2010
For the first time ever, GE Appliances & Lighting will announce finalists in its prestigious and long-running annual GE Edison Award global lighting design competition.
GE will reveal the list of finalists as part of its participation in Light+Building 2010, one of the world’s leading trade fairs for architecture and technology, held April 11-16, 2010, in Frankfurt, Germany. GE’s presence at the show in Booth D20 of Hall 4.1 will showcase numerous advanced lighting technologies, including light-emitting diode (LED) systems and components.
“One of our primary objectives with the GE Edison Award is to shine a spotlight on superior, forward-thinking lighting design,” says Mary Beth Gotti, director of the GE Lighting & Electrical Institute, GE Appliances & Lighting. “Our announcement of the finalists at Light+Building 2010 is fitting because the GE Edison Award competition draws entrants and interest from around the world.”
In the 26-year history of the GE Edison Awards, past winners have hailed from the United States, Canada, Finland and Germany. Over the last three years, approximately 30 percent of entrants have been from outside the U.S.
“We see this as a great opportunity to expand the global stage that our competition provides,” notes Simon Phillips, commercial director of lighting for GE Appliances & Lighting in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The GE Edison Award competition—which recognizes excellence and quality in professional lighting designs that employ the significant use of GE light sources (lamps and/or LEDs)—is open to professional designers, architects, engineers and consultants from anywhere in the world. Entries are judged on functional excellence; architectural compatibility; effective use of state–of–the–art lighting products and techniques; appropriate color, form and texture revelation; energy effectiveness and cost effectiveness. Judges this year come from France and the U.S.
All qualifying entrants—the finalists named at Light+Building 2010—will be invited to an awards ceremony held Tuesday, May 11, 2010, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, the evening before the start of LightFair International. During the May 2010 ceremony, designers who have been designated as winners of Awards of Excellence, Awards of Merit, the Award for Excellence in Environmental Design and the Award for Residential Design will be recognized with personalized plaques acknowledging their lighting design achievements. The identity of the final 2009 GE Edison Award Winner (awarded in 2010) will remain confidential until announced at the awards ceremony. The winner will receive a personalized Steuben crystal trophy and continued publicity throughout the following year. A distinctive plaque will also be presented to the owner of the winning installation.
All lighting projects submitted for award consideration must have been completed between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2009.
Because Light+Building is a biennial show, GE will select another venue for the following year’s finalist announcement. “We expect to make the finalist announcement a permanent lead-in to the GE Edison Award ceremony,” adds Phillips.