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Light + Building 2026 Industry’s the Sector’s Pace of Innovation

William Attardi on March 16, 2026

Light + Building 2026 highlighted the remarkable pace at which innovation is currently advancing across the industry. From 8th to 13th March 2026, 1,927 exhibitors from 49 countries showcased a wide range of advanced technological solutions in Frankfurt – from the electrification and digital connectivity of buildings and urban spaces to sophisticated lighting and design concepts for architecture, urban development and interiors. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, bidirectional charging, multifunctional interfaces and connected lighting solutions featured prominently in many products, marking the next stage in the development of buildings, cities and lighting design. Light + Building 2026 industry’s the sector’s pace of innovation – A1 Lighting Magazine

Innovation in the Digital Age

William Attardi on May 16, 2025

Innovation in the Digital Age.mp4 

Sponsored by naturaLED LED Lighting Solutions

 New product development is essential to survival in this dynamic global economy.  This e-learning session ups the ante to INNOVATION.  We have never seen change at this level of velocity and with the emergence of AI, it will speed up.  Clayton Christensen when he was at Harvard University detailed three (3) essential forms of innovation in his book: The Innovator’s Dilemma.  Worth reading……….my goal with this virtual learning session is to cover his essential points in order to encourage you to research this subject in more detail. Jack Welch said it best: If the rate of change outside is greater than the rate of change inside, the end is near.

The Statue of Liberty was made with copper but due to oxidation, it turned green.

When the “Lady in the Harbor” first arrived in New York in 1886, she didn’t look like the mint-green icon we know today. In fact, for the first twenty years of her life, she stood as a towering, metallic beacon of reddish-gold. Designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and engineered by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the statue was a gift from France to America. To build her, Bartholdi chose copper for three practical reasons:

  • Malleability:It could be hammered into elaborate, thin sheets.
  • Weight:Copper is lighter than stone or bronze, making it easier to ship 350 individual pieces across the Atlantic.
  • Durability:It was strong enough to survive a 27-day ocean voyage and the harsh winds of the harbor.

When she was unveiled on October 28, 1886, her skin—made of 300 copper sheets roughly the thickness of two pennies—shone with a bright, metallic brown luster. The transformation from “penny-colored” to “patina-green” wasn’t planned. Bartholdi actually expected the statue to age into a deeper, darker red. However, the unique environment of New York Harbor—a mix of salt air, moisture, and industrial pollution—triggered a process called oxidation.

The Timeline of Change:

  1. 1886–1900:The bright copper dulled into a dark, muddy brown.
  2. 1903:The first hints of a light green crust, or “patina,” began to appear.
  3. 1906:The color change was so controversial that Congress nearly stepped in. They appropriated $62,000 to paint the statue back to its original color, but the public protested, calling the idea “sacrilege.”
  4. 1910–1920:The statue was a patchy mix of brown and green until 1920, when the oxidation was complete, leaving her entirely teal.

While we now view the green color as iconic, it actually serves a vital structural purpose. The layer of verdigris (the green patina) acts as a protective shield. It seals the copper underneath, preventing the metal from further corrosion and weathering.  By the time the color fully changed, a new generation of immigrants had arrived in America seeing a green statue.