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In commercial lighting design, project discussions often centre on immediate functional and aesthetic goals.

However, buildings and workplaces change far more frequently than the systems that illuminate them, due to new tenants or evolving workflows. As interiors are refreshed, reorganised, or re‑tenanted, lighting installations are often replaced long before their technical lifespan ends. This leads to the disposal of interior equipment, even when the installations remain in excellent condition. This contradicts the significantly increased life span of LED lighting equipment, which today can outlast multiple interior cycles. The challenge is not whether the equipment will survive, but whether our design approach can.

Why conventional approaches fail

This mismatch becomes clear when comparing different approaches to lighting design and how well they respond to changes in use and layout.

1.     Fixed installations

A fixed installation means cables and power supply are brought specifically to each luminaire location, with controls planned to accommodate a certain number of fixtures. While this setup works perfectly on day one, it becomes outdated when room layouts change. As a result, the installation may no longer provide necessary lighting, can cause glare or reflections, and adapting it requires costly, disruptive re-installation work.

A conventional fixed installation optimised for day-one layout. Image: º£½ÇÊÓƵ

2.     Floor-based flexibility

A more flexible approach provides floor boxes with power connections for standing lights but remains limited in scope. This approach suits layouts with fixed desks in open offices, but it does not cover different uses. When new needs arise, additional lighting arrangements in the ceiling are often required – adding cost and disruption each time the space transforms.

Partial flexibility through combined ceiling and floor-based lighting. Image: º£½ÇÊÓƵ

3.     Technically sophisticated luminaires that cannot evolve

In refurbishment projects, many luminaires remain in good physical condition but cannot accommodate LED retrofit lamps because their optical systems were engineered around older lamp geometries. While decorative luminaires with standard sockets allow easy LED upgrades, more complex designs become obsolete simply because they cannot adapt – even when they have years of potential life remaining. This mismatch leads to premature waste.

What approach works?

A more resilient way to plan a flexible lighting scheme is to treat it as building infrastructure rather than a fixed installation. Lighting infrastructure, such as power and control points, is distributed throughout the building, allowing systems and luminaires to connect flexibly and be repositioned and expanded as needed.

When the spatial layout or furniture arrangement changes, the lighting can be adjusted without modifying the electrical installation. This approach supports both technical and decorative luminaire typologies and is particularly relevant for buildings that are leased over longer periods: the landlord provides the infrastructure, and the tenant can update and adjust the lighting without refurbishing the cabling infrastructure in the ceiling. By enabling change without disruption, this infrastructure-orientated approach directly addresses the problem of waste and ensures that lighting systems match the long lifespans of LED technology.

Lighting infrastructure that allows complete reconfiguration without electrical modifications. Image: º£½ÇÊÓƵ

Understanding user needs and client expectations

Adaptable lighting is not only a technical or infrastructure challenge. It is also about people. In our projects, clients increasingly expect lighting schemes that meet standards while remaining adaptable. Designing such systems requires more than technical expertise; it involves understanding human interactions and activities, understanding that each person has different needs and acknowledging that ease of adjustment in lighting is an essential feature rather than a nice-to-have.

This focus on actual use and user feedback becomes clear in our project experience.

BAM research building, Berlin

At the research building for the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) in Berlin, the planning process benefits from continuous and direct interaction with all stakeholders involved in the project. Clients and end users actively participate in the design process, providing insights that would not emerge from programming documents alone. By gathering feedback, early enough for implementation, the lighting solutions can better reflect how people work, use and maintain the installations, rather than relying on assumptions made at the outset.

These insights led our design team to plan flexibility tailored to this client, using their lessons learned from many years in maintaining and adapting systems and spaces for new uses. The design caters not only for a technically sound lighting scheme but also for easy future adaptation of the lighting installation.

The new laboratory and research building for the German Federal Institute of Materials Research in Berlin. Image: Burckhardt Architekten

Refurbishment project in Berlin: upgrading a ten-year-old installation

In another project in Berlin, the task was to upgrade an existing lighting scheme that was ten years old to more energy efficient LED lighting. The condition of the existing luminaires varied:

• Some luminaires had deteriorated mechanically and required complete replacement.
• Others were in good physical condition but could not accommodate LED retrofit lamps due to incompatible optical designs.
• Decorative luminaires with standard sockets adapted easily to conversions

This contrast illustrated a recurring challenge: sophisticated luminaires often become obsolete because they cannot evolve, while simple ones remain usable.

When redesigning the installation, an infrastructure-orientated approach was adopted. The overall number of luminaires was reduced, adaptability was increased, and light sources were separated from luminaires to accommodate future changes more easily.

This infrastructure-based approach led to significant results: energy consumption for lighting dropped from approximately 95,000 kWh per year to 35,000 kWh per year – a 63% reduction. This translated to operating cost savings of around €15,000 annually, reducing the energy bill from approximately €22,000 to €8,000. The carbon impact was equally significant, with savings of 15,000 kg CO₂ per year based on a mixed-power grid. With a total project cost of €81,000 for equipment, installation and commissioning, the simple payback period was 5.4 years – well within the expected 20-year-plus lifetime of the new LED systems.

Beyond the numbers, the project highlighted a broader conclusion: sophistication without adaptability produces premature waste.

Checklist for a long-term adaptability strategy

Strategic planning

• Allocate space for future lighting needs
• Ensure load balancing supports later expansion
• Design for regular assessments and upgrades

Flexible infrastructure

• Use infrastructure‑led solutions where luminaires can be repositioned without electrical modifications
• Separate the light source from the luminaires where possible
• Design systems compatible with cooling ceilings or cooling panels

Smart controls & technology readiness

• Integrate easily programmable lighting controls
• Choose infrastructure components compatible with emerging technologies such as IoT connectivity or wireless control protocols
• Use occupancy-based and energy-efficient automated systems

User-centred design

• Understand human interactions and individual needs
• Provide easy adjustment options that accommodate different ways of working
• Involve stakeholders early to collect insights that improve long‑term usability

Documentation

• Maintain correct and complete documentation of the lighting infrastructure
• Record underlying system capacities, not just initial luminaire placement
• Provide thorough information for future references to avoid abandoning usable infrastructure

Building futureproof lighting systems

In essence, a forward-thinking lighting design scheme integrates adaptability into its core, challenging the traditional approach and aligning with sustainability principles. By doing so, it extends the lifespan of lighting products, reduces waste and contributes to a more resilient build environment. The shift from fixed installations to flexible infrastructure represents more than technical evolution – it aligns building systems with the reality that spaces must serve many futures, not just one perfect present.