Messe Frankfurt Expands Intelligent Building Focus for 2027 Show
When Messe Frankfurt, IES and IALD announced that LightFair would evolve into Light + Intelligent Building North America, the addition of two words—Intelligent Building—was significant.
Now we are beginning to see Messe Frankfurt put some muscle behind that part of the show.
In its latest marketing campaign, Messe Frankfurt is specifically promoting Smart Home & Building Automation. The category includes building automation, energy management, lighting controls and HVAC controls. It also covers system integration, remote monitoring, security and wireless connectivity.
That is important. The success of Light + Intelligent Building North America may depend, in part, on expanding the audience beyond traditional lighting. At the same time, Messe Frankfurt must keep lighting at the center of the conversation.
What If Building Systems Shared What They Know?
As part of that effort, Messe Frankfurt recently published an article by Casey Stokes, contributing editor for Messe Frankfurt North America. His article is titled “Unifying Siloed Building Systems.”
Casey points out that today’s commercial buildings may contain dozens of independent systems. These include HVAC, lighting controls, access control, security, elevators and power monitoring.
Each system collects valuable data. However, much of that information remains trapped within the individual system.
As Casey writes:
“The badge system knows when an employee enters the building, but the lighting system does not have access to that information.”
That one sentence does a pretty good job of explaining the opportunity.
Casey argues that a common information layer can allow different building systems to share information. Importantly, building owners can accomplish this without replacing their existing control systems.
He offers another example:
“When the access control system detects that the last employee badges out at 6 PM, the lighting turns off, HVAC settings adjust, blinds close, and security arms unused zones.”
Now we’re talking about something much broader than lighting controls.
Casey also discusses digital twins, predictive maintenance and artificial intelligence. All are built around a common idea: Data becomes much more valuable when different building systems can actually use it.
A Bigger Opportunity for Light + Intelligent Building North America
This is an encouraging direction for Light + Intelligent Building North America.
Messe Frankfurt is organizing the show around three major areas: Lighting, Building Technology and Accessories. The Building Technology area will include networked lighting controls, whole-building automation, integrated platforms and adaptive system management.
As a result, the show will hopefully attract a much broader audience. System integrators, facility professionals, building automation companies and software providers all have a reason to attend. In addition, other new players could discover a show that historically centered on lighting. For decades, we have talked about how we talk to each other. It would really be nice to speak to decision makers/influencers outside of lighting.
And that could increase the value of the show for the lighting industry rather than dilute it—provided Messe Frankfurt keeps lighting central.
Lighting is already located throughout virtually every occupied building. As sensors, controls and connectivity become more important, lighting has an opportunity to play an even greater role in the intelligent building.
The challenge for Messe Frankfurt will be bringing these different industries together. However, its latest marketing campaign—and Casey Stokes’ article—suggests that effort is gaining momentum.
The addition of Intelligent Building to the show’s name was a bold move. Now Messe Frankfurt is beginning to show us what those two words can mean.
Light + Intelligent Building North America will be held 15–18 MAR 2027 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Read Casey Stokes’ complete article, “Unifying Siloed Building Systems.”