The City of Eindhoven in the Netherlands has been named as the winner of the LUCI Association’s Cities & Lighting Award 2026.
The winning project, called ‘Lighting Kerstroopsplein’, was set up to resolve the balance between resident safety needs and ecological preservation, LUCI said.
The award was made during the LUCI Association Cities & Lighting Summit, held in Oulu, Finland.
The second prize was split between the cities of Busan in South Korea and Lyon in France, with the third prize being awarded to the city of Cartagena in Spain.
Two special mentions were made to Richmond and Wandsworth Council in the UK and Madiun in Indonesia.
The Lighting Kerstroopsplein project won plaudits from the judges in particular for its innovative “light sketching” method.
Kerstroosplein is a neighbourhood park in Eindhoven and residents gathered after dark to “sketch” their desired lighting on tablets, which was instantly translated into real light via custom-made RGBW luminaires.
This experiential conversation increased community engagement and acceptance of light levels far lower than standard designs.
“A small, inexpensive project with high innovative value, using an experimental and original method,” said jury member Sara Castagné.
“The result corresponds to a specific context and local scale, but the method could be replicated. User involvement is the best way to promote acceptance of very low light levels.
“The availability of different lighting scenes makes it possible to adapt lighting to collective uses and different seasons. This project fully meets the objectives of the LUCI declaration,” she added.
The awards, now in their third edition since being launched in 2022, are designed to celebrate cities that have driven forward projects focused on improving sustainability and quality of life.
The entries are designed to align closely with the goals of the LUCI Declaration for the Future of Urban Lighting, adopted by the LUCI network – of which the ILP is a member – in 2023.
The jury for the 2026 LUCI Cities & Lighting Awards was:
• Olli Rantala, head of innovation, City of Oulu (Finland)
• Chiara Carucci, founder and principal lighting designer, Noctua (Italy)
• Alberto Barberá Duelo, senior lighting designer, Anoche & Cluster Manager, CICAT (Spain)
• Sara Castagné, CEO and lighting designer, Concepto (France)
• Youngho Baik, chief consultant, ECOLANT (South Korea)
There will be a more in-depth look at the winners, and the Cities & Lighting Summit, in the April edition of Lighting Journal.
Image: a light sketching session in Kerstroopsplein, by Bart van Overbeeke, courtesy of the LUCI Association
