Selected Work

Where light inspires connection and sustainability

Intelligent, responsive lighting design creating inclusive spaces that celebrate culture and community.

Client
Dubai Expo City, UNStudio
Services
Lighting Design, Masterplanning
Location
Dubai, UAE
Year
2024

In this project, lighting becomes the invisible architecture shaping how people experience their city. Every pathway, plaza, and gathering space is designed to glow with a sense of belonging, using responsive systems that adapt to human movement and cultural rhythms. As day shifts into night, the light evolves, balancing beauty with safety while reducing energy use. By weaving sustainability and storytelling into every beam, the project crafts a new kind of urban nightscape. The city becomes both stage and sanctuary, where technology, culture, and human connection converge.

This vision reimagines the role of light in the public realm, creating spaces that are alive with possibility. At its core lies a dynamic system that responds to people, seasons, and celebrations, ensuring that every corner of the city resonates with purpose and care. The design merges innovation with sustainability, reducing carbon impact without compromising experience. Light highlights cultural diversity, shaping a collective identity through shared moments of joy. By night, the city shines not as a spectacle but as a living organism, nurturing well-being, inclusivity, and discovery.

Dubai Expo City Masterplan
Dubai Expo City Masterplan
The challenges

The results are transformative: a city that glows with vitality while treading lightly on the planet. Residents and visitors alike feel welcomed by spaces that are safe, inspiring, and deeply human. Energy consumption is significantly reduced thanks to intelligent dimming, demonstrating measurable environmental gains without aesthetic compromise. Cultural diversity is celebrated nightly, as bespoke light programs bring communities together and foster belonging. Above all, the project sets a new benchmark for urban lighting, showing how technology, sustainability, and imagination can align to shape cities that feel alive.

The Solutions

The solution was to design a responsive lighting ecosystem—one that goes far beyond static illumination. Every fixture was specified to interact with its surroundings, dimming or brightening based on real-time needs. Pathways and gathering spaces pulse with energy, mirroring the rhythms of urban life while conserving power through intelligent controls. Colour temperatures shift fluidly, guiding mood and movement, and cultural events are celebrated through tailored, adaptive light scenes. This approach unites efficiency, artistry, and inclusivity, delivering a sustainable framework where light itself becomes a language of connection.

Ready to bring your vision to life?

Contact DEG today!

Get in touch
ArrowArrow
Mobile CTA