Tallinn University of Technology

About the seminar

Video transmissions of the seminar can be found here:

ENG translation

EST translation 

Tallinn Urban Environment and Public Works Department is organizing together with Tallinn University of Technology (Taltech) a seminar on sustainable urban lighting with special focus on light pollution.

We will analyze how excessive lighting affects people and the environment, and what different countries have done to reduce disturbing lighting. The seminar will also present the results of the research work "Evaluation and analysis of the lighting environment (light pollution and glare) of the city of Tallinn", conducted by Taltech.

In addition, we will hear the views of a world-renowned lighting designer and an architect on sustainable lighting, learn about the latest technical solutions to tackling light pollution as well as listen to representatives from LUCI (Lighting Urban Community International) and Aalto University (Helsinki).

We will focus on the following questions:

  • Can there be too much light? How can it be measured? What is light pollution and glare?
  • How does excessive light affect the environment and people?
  • How does the rest of the world regulate and limit excessive light in cities?
  • How does the analysis of panoramic and satellite views allow us to arrive at a more balanced lighting?
  • Are citizens ready for a general reduction in lighting?
     

The seminar is international (with simultaneous interpretation provided from Estonian to English) and intended for experts and parties interested in the field of urban lighting from both the public and private sectors.

Registration

14. September 2023 Tallinn, Tallink SPA & Conference Hotel, Conference Center, Sadama 11a.

The seminar is free, but please register HERE!  - REGISTRATION IS CLOSED, BUT IF YOU ARE INETERESTED, PLEASE LET US KNOW: eliisa.metsoja@taltech.ee 

Programme

9.00   Gathering and morning coffee
9:30   Opening remarks, Deputy Major of Tallinn, Vladimir Svet
9:35    Introduction, Moderator Tarmo Korõtko (TalTech)
9:40   Light pollution and glare, effects on the environment and people health, Martin Parker (TalTech)
10:05   Measurement of light pollution of the Tallinn city panorama (methodology and results), Toivo Varjas (TalTech)
10:30   Analysis of light pollution in Tallinn and two comparison cities based on satellite images (methodology and results), Argo Rosin (TalTech)

10:55   Regulations on light pollution, Martin Parker (TalTech)
11:20   Survey of Tallinna citizens’ perception of light pollution, Eva Tallo (Tallinn)
11:45   Lunch
12:45   Key-Note: Lighting Design versus Sustainability (Light Sparring format), Lighting Designer Jari Vuorinen (Finland)
13:25   Lighting technology progress WILD LIGHT, Robert Diedrich, Head Of Marketing WE-EF (France)
13:50   Designing (with) Darkness. Eik Hermann, Estonian Academy of Arts (Tallinn)

14:15   Energy break
14:35   The Voice of Cities on reducing Light Pollution, Elisa Hillgen and Jasmine van der Pol, Representative of LUCI
15:00   Urban Lighting Research & Public Participation GIS: A case study and future possibilities, Dmitrii Ingi (Aalto) 
15:25   Smart Street lighting control system for the city of Tallinn - Pilot project, Tanel Lillesaar (Enefit Connect)
15:50   DISCUSSION: Urban lighting of the future
16:35   Wrap-up, Moderaator Tarmo Korõtko (TalTech)

Speakers

Argo Rosin

Argo Rosin

Professor Argo Rosin on Tallinna Tehnikaülikooli mikrovõrkude ja metroloogia uurimisrühma juht. Lisaks koordineerib ta akrediteeritud valgustuslabori tööd. Ta on juhtiv teadlane Targa Linna Tippkeskuses (FinEst Centre), mis keskendub teadusuuringute ja piiriüleste innovatsioonivõrgustike ja -võimaluste arendamisele viies valdkonnas – andmed, juhtimine, liikuvus, energeetika ja tehiskeskkond. Ta on juhtinud mitmeid rahvusvahelisi ja riiklikke teadus- ja arendusprojekte mikrovõrkude ja valgustehnika valdkonnas, mille tulemusi on publitseeritud mitmetes rahvusvahelise levikuga raamatutes (Springer, IET), teadusajakirjades ja konverentsikogumikes.
Jari Vuorinen

Jari Vuorinen

Jari Vuorinen is an internattionally awarded lighting designer and light artist from Finland. He is a Creative Director and partner of LDC ( Lighting Design Collective). He aims to discuss light related matters in slightly provocative but enlightened way. He  calls this method Light Sparring. www.LDCOL.com 

Robert Diedrich

Robert Diedrich


Robert Diedrich, after completing his studies in economics at Monash University, joined WE-EF Lighting Pty Ltd in Melbourne Australia in 1994. After moving through various roles, such as logisitics and sales he transferred to WE-EF LEUCHTEN GmbH in 2007. Robert has also worked quite closely on the subject of sustainability, and has been part of a team overseeing the implementation of Environmental Product Declarations. He is currently Head of Marketing for Germany.

Toivo Varjas

Toivo Varjas

Toivo Varjas is a lighting technology expert with a doctorate degree and a measurement specialist in the Tallinn University of Technology accredited lighting laboratory. In addition, Toivo Varjas is a member of the Estonian Centre for Standardisation technical committee (EVS/TC-24) „Light and lighting technology” and the Leader of the Working Group for Terminology in Lighting Technology at Tallinn University of Technology. Toivo has completed training in Germany and Finland on the application of photographic luminance measurement techniques and has introduced this technology in Estonia since 2007. For more than ten years, he has given advanced training to companies and the subject of electric lighting to university students. Toivo has participated in more than ten local and international lighting research projects (or research and development projects) and has more than 25 years of work experience in the field of lighting and color measurement technology.

 



Elisa Hillgen
Elisa Hillgen

Elisa Hillgen is a lighting designer, light artist and a lighting coordinator at the City of Jyväskylä, know as City of Light. She has previously worked in the field of building and interior design, and has over 15 years of experience in different fields of lighting. For the last 7 years, she has focused on urban lighting and light art projects. Her job as the lighting coordinator of Jyväskylä includes taking care of the dark time cityscape by organizing design projects and maintenance for urban lighting and working in the light festival team. 
Social media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisahillgen/, website: https://valonkaupunki.jyvaskyla.fi/en/city-light-jyvaskyla

Jasmine van der Pol

Jasmine van der Pol

Jasmine van der Pol is working at LUCI, the international network of cities on urban lighting. Jasmine helps to develop and support knowledge exchange within the LUCI network. She is passionate about light and how light can change cities.  It was during her master’s in industrial design engineering at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands that Jasmine chose to specialize in lighting. With almost 20 years of experience, half with an international lighting manufacturer and half in design agencies, she today dedicates her energy to help cities connect, collectively learn about urban lighting, and work on improving lighting policies.

Eik Hermann

Eik Hermann


Eik Hermann is a lecturer on philosophy and practice-based theory at the Estonian Academy of Arts and editor-in-chief of the architecture magazine Ehituskunst. He completed his MA in philosophy at the Estonian Institute of Humanities, Tallinn University in 2005. His current focus lies mainly in the grey areas between the theoretical and practical, material and mental, psychological and political, and pragmatic and poetic.
 

Tanel Lillesaar

Tanel Lillesaar

Tanel Lillesaar graduated from Mainor University of higher education in business management and has vocational education as a specialist in electrical engineering. Professional experience: Since 2005, he has worked in private business from project manager to business development manager. In the years 2016-2020, he worked as a electricity business development manager  in Sweden. The biggest project was participation in the construction process of a 22,000 m2 office building. From 2021, he started working at Enefit Connect OÜ as a Street Lighting Product Manager in the Baltic and Polish markets. During this time, he has started smart street lighting service projects in eight local governments in Estonia. In addition, he has carried out larger and smaller LED street lighting renovation projects in the Baltics and Poland. As a product manager, he has implemented new technological solutions such as the construction of a street lighting network on electricity grid poles, technical solutions for control panels and the implementation of a lighting-based control system, which enables automatic electricity calculation through the control system.

Dimitrii Ingi

Dimitrii Ingi


Dmitrii Ingi is a doctoral researcher at Aalto University's School of Electrical Engineering, affiliated with the Lighting Research Group. With a master's degree in Lighting Design from ITMO University, he contributes to the FinEst Twins project (FinEst Centre for Smart Cities) and has published research articles in relevant journals and conference proceedings. His current research focuses on urban planning and lighting design, particularly exploring the impact of urban lighting on user experience. His work and interests involve utilizing PPGIS (Public Participation Geographic Information Systems) for evidence-based urban lighting design research and integrating geographic information systems (GIS) for lighting analysis and digitalization.

Martin Parker

Martin Parker is doctoral student and junior researcher in Tallinn University of Technology in department of electrical power engineering and mechatronics. Moreover, he has responsibilities in two testing laboratories as quality specialist. His research interests lay in the fields of lighting technology and electromagnetic fields.