Where we are is not where we are going
If you work in the construction industry now there is a great deal of consternation floating in the ether. Global prices for materials ranging from lumber to the chips that go in light engines are surging. While some factories are faring better than others weathering the supply chain storm, the ripple effects are causing waves tossing us all about. Projects are being put on hold as owners hold out, thinking this is the peak of the price wave. Every distributor, rep, and factory in the chain on every project is being asked to deliver faster and at lower cost on every project. Designers are being asked to tolerate value engineering to the point where the final product barely resembles the thing they designed. They are over budget before they’ve even sent out a DD package.
This is not sustainable
As an industry, we cannot continue the race to the bottom. There is only so low prices can go, only so many volume discounts, and only so many ways to cut corners. The market has already been me-too’d to death. We need to get back on a cycle of innovation in the lighting sector. The important thing about innovation is that it’s not enough to simply make new things. We have to create a market that understands the value of the things we are creating.
The Good News - We Won’t Be Here Forever
Our customers’ customers won’t allow it.
In my lifetime, New York City has sustained the September 11th attacks, the market crash of 2007/2008 and being the epicenter of a global pandemic. Each of these jolts shifted the culture of the city. But each time the city rebounded into a new, stronger iteration of itself. This pandemic is no different. I can’t predict what sectors will come back and when. But I can tell you this…
Knowledge workers will demand better spaces to live and work in post pandemic.
If you’ve been fortunate enough to work remotely throughout the pandemic you have been working at home, in an environment you chose, designed and felt comfortable in. There are many things I would change about my house if I could wave a magic wand, but on my little patch of land, I created a home office I enjoy, and admire the birds out my back window. I even set up a lighting shed for mockups. I play the music I want and eat the food I enjoy. I miss New York City so very much, but I have also grown accustomed to the comforts of home.
Most knowledge workers I know are deeply reconsidering if they even want to come back to the office and if they are, they're thinking hard about how many days a week they want to commute. How many of their kids games they want to miss sitting in traffic, and how many hours they want to spend in an open bullpen with concrete floors and exposed air ducts.
Design will lead the way.
What all this adds up to is this - design is going to have to lead the way when it comes to the future rebuilding of NYC, and I’m not just talking about office spaces. Everything from nursing homes to schools to doctor's offices will need to be re-thought in light of the pandemic. If we want to draw people out of their homes and the comfort of Amazon everything, we need to do that with amazing design.
It’s Time To Demonstrate The Value of Light
I’m not talking about the value of any specific product. I’m not talking about the lighting design of a specific project. We need to start talking to decision makers about the value of high-quality light and lighting design itself. It is a time for boldness. A time for bold design and innovative products. The faster we prove how lighting can help workers, patients, students, families, healthcare providers, educators, and everyone else who spends most of their lives indoors.
The day-to-day battle over value engineering won’t stop tomorrow, but we also won’t be here forever. So, I’ll be talking to anyone who will listen about the value of amazing light.
You should too.
