David Apfel

David Apfel, principal of David Apfel Lighting Design in New York, will be a featured speaker at VM+SD's second annual International Retail Design Conference, September 18 – 20, in Pasadena, Calif. He will be discussing “How to Integrate Lighting into Retail Architecture.”

The highly regarded lighting design consultant attended Lightfair in June and evaluated some of the better new products he saw there. Our complete Lightfair coverage, by our regular lighting editor Lois Hutchinson, begins on page 58. But here is Apfel's commentary, as well.

Lightfair 2002

On the morning of June 3, a distinguished panel of experts presented the new lighting product showcase and awards program. It was in San Francisco, so with latte and sourdough in hand, I filed into the auditorium of the Palace Hotel, ready to be wowed.

Many lighting products were honored for technical innovations, and there was also a wealth of material to stir the imagination of a retail store designer. Listed below are those lighting products that will be of interest to anyone who builds or remodels stores.

* Engineered Lighting Products Hole-in-the Ceiling

Round and square cast fiberglass reinforced gypsum downlights for compact fluorescent, incandescent and metal halide lamps that are plastered into the ceiling. A worthy addition to their classic Hole-in-the Wall series.

* Modular International Inc.

Modular Multiples Apertures Panels contain round or square openings for MR16, AR111 and AR70 lamps with trimless apertures for downlights or adjustable accent lights. And there's a no-hardware look for all you minimalists out there.

* Juno Lighting Inc. MH2 Track Lighting Series

A track-mounted accent light for metal halide PAR lamps with style. By separating the lamp holder from the ballast assembly, they have come up with a winner. This is not your father's Juno.

* RSA Lighting LLC Quiet Ceiling

Recessed, trimless architectural lighting system features round and square adjustable housing. Unique detail adapts to multiple ceiling thicknesses in the field.

* Bartco Lighting Flip and Slide

A T5 fluorescent single lamp adjustable staggered channel with in-line ballast. Bartco realized the significant impact that small fluorescent lamps would have on retail architecture. It was one of the first out of the starting gate with a wide variety of fixture types for multiple applications. This is ideal for incorporation into store fixtures and excellent for socket shadowless light coves.

* Erco Lighting Inc.

Anything these guys make looks good and performs great. While a bit pricey, you can leave out the rest of the store design; these light fixtures are beautiful enough to become the store design.

I'm aware that all of the above have been filtered through my own sense of design and relate to the kind of retail projects that I work on most often. Many other worthy products for varied applications were showcased. If you want to learn more, plan to attend the International Retail Design Conference in Pasadena, Calif., Sept. 18-20. Some of the above manufacturers will be showing their products, and seminars will focus on imaginative applications.