64|REPORTAJE T his is the second time that the Workshop of Lighting Studies (TEL) of the “Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona” (ETSAB) (Superior Technical School of Architecture of Barcelona) of the UPC and the magazine iCandela, organize the International Competition of Photography in Artificial Lighting (ICAL). On this occasion, the contest exceeded the figures of the previous edition: the number of photographs received tripled, more brands sponsored the contest, the total in prices was larger and international participation increased. Furthermore,otheractivitiestook place at the same time, such as a series of conferences on topics related to light (from March to May 2016) and a Technical Workshop on “Enseñanza e Iluminación Artificial” (Teaching and Artificial Lighting) ( held on 26 of May, 2016). The second edition of ICAL awarded a total of 9.000€ in prizes, divided in five different categories: four for students of architecture, design and engineering from all over the world and a special category for professionals. This last category was one of the novelties of this year and created great interest in the participants (more than 100 photographs were received). Daniel Freixes and representatives of the mayor brands of lighting at the award ceremony The award ceremony celebrated at the Conference Room of the ETSAB, in Barcelona, on May 26, 2016, was attended by the renowned architect, Daniel Freixes, who has received many international awards for his work. To name a few: on 2001 he received the National Design Award for his project for museum at the “Museo de la Pesca” (Fishing Museum) of Palamós, Gerona and in 2007, the National Award for Architecture and Public Space for the “Museo de las Minas de Gavá” in Barcelona. Freixes stepped on stage and gave an entertaining speech on light and its intrinsic characteristics. He made people smile from the very beginning by mentioning how when he was a child he always asked for a flashlight as a present. He liked them because they were the best toy: you could do interesting things with them: illuminate and create shadows wherever he pleased, turn it on or off at will, and the best thing was that it could always surprise him. The boy, who would years later become an architect, grew up thinking the same about light: “It’s immeasurable, intangible, difficult to control and, consequently, can’t be standardized”. Working with light is complex but very interesting. Freixes shared some of the projects he had done, such as the Attic Restaurant, the exposition “Un siglo de relojería y bisutería” (A century of watchmaking and custom jewelry) or “La Casa de los Títeres” (The puppet house), a museum dedicated to puppets. On this last one, the architect emphasized the importance of lighting in a theater space or in scenography due to its “capacity to generate illusion, a key element in those places”. At the gala, the representatives of the sponsoring lighting brands were also present. Responsible for product marketing of Delta Light, iGuzzini, Erco, Sakma, Feilo Sylvania; for Lledó Lighting, Artemide, Viabizzuno; and Lightec (Madrid Fair). They handed the awards to the winners. At the end of the ceremony, after coming up stage to share a photograph with the winners, they enjoyed a cocktail partaking with the other guests of the event. Before the last refreshment, a luminary model “Cesta” by Miguel Milá, presented by the brand Santa&Cole for the occasion was raffled among the attendees. On the same day, in the Coderch hall of the ETSAB, the photography exposition was launched, with all the photographs that participated in the contest. The exposition stayed opened at this faculty in Barcelona until June 9, 2016. In October, it will begin a traveling exhibition through Europe, going to national and international universities. It will be present at the Lightec fair which will be under the umbrella of ePower & Building, this year.