Member of the Month

October 2021

Enrique Peiniger, CLD, IALD, Assoc. AIA, MIES
Founder & Chief Innovation Officer
OVI

Q: How did you first get started in the lighting industry?
I received my engineering degree from The Technical University of Berlin in Germany, which is where I also discovered my love of lighting - its ability to shape spaces, create experiences and tell stories. After graduating, I started working for a lighting manufacturer in Berlin. This business was family-owned but served clients globally, so my experience there gave me valuable insight of the vast architectural world and it allowed me to focus on my new passion: lighting. I enjoyed this role very much, as it allowed me to collaborate with many industry experts to develop custom lighting products and engage in a fascinating engineering dialogue for architectural projects.

I had a strong desire to work in America and gain experience with a firm on the East Coast. I was able to secure an internship at a firm in Washington, D.C., where Jean Sundin was the Studio Director (and my first boss in America)! We realized how well we worked together and had many ideas of how to do things that just weren’t being done at the time (LED streetlights) so we left and formed Office for Visual Interaction (OVI) in 1997. I am so proud that our work methodologies, and enthusiasm for lighting helped us get our first jobs — The Scottish Parliament, The Air Force Memorial, The Cincinnati Arts Center and The New York Times Building — without even having an OVI portfolio to show.

I channeled my early experience of creating products into OVI’s spectrum of work, along with our lighting design prowess, we have a strong track record of crafting custom luminaires and lighting products for our clients. Our product design work is exciting because it allows us the opportunity to innovate with state-of-art technology to fulfill the needs of our clients now, with solutions that will be relevant years into the future.

Q: How did you first get involved in the IESNYC?
As a student and young designer in Germany, I mostly read LD+A Magazine at that time. It was not the only source for industry news and information, but certainly was the best. It helped me understand the scope of lighting design projects around the world and gave me insight into the many facets of lighting design. Later, when I began practicing lighting design in the USA, I attended the LightFair Conference and Trade Show and saw firsthand the breadth and potential of lighting design. I joined IESNYC to become a full-fledged member of the lighting design community and to continue building my education and professional network.

Q: How do you see your role as a member of the IESNYC?
The IESNYC is such a valuable resource for lighting professionals, whether they are new to the industry or well established. As a member for many years, I see my role to foster and mentor the next generation of lighting designers.

There are always new facets to our work, and new designers will experience so much change in the course of their careers - the evolution of technical elements, controls, media integration, and overall design strategy and philosophy. I strive to be a resource for designers — to push their imagination, help them discover tools that empower them to better understand change and adapt to it, and to assist the next generation in realizing the role of lighting designers of the future. It is through the IES network, that I am able to reach a vast community as I lecture and teach, attend official events, and network with other members. I recently participated in an IESNYC produced panel discussion “Once More with Feeling” which was a great exchange with other professionals — and hope we were able to share some of our design challenges and insights.

Q: In your opinion, what are the best assets of the IESNYC?
Aside from the important work of building and maintaining a robust, successful, and adaptable community, I feel that IES sets the standards that define successful lighting design. I have had the opportunity to participate as a Lumen Awards judge in 2016. In 2017 I was a judge for the Student Lighting Competition and was also asked to be that year’s keynote speaker and I lectured on the “Lighting Powers of 10.”

Industry professionals world-wide look to the work IES has done and how it can inform their own approach to design. The time and effort IES spends updating guidelines for the industry is tremendous work done by very experienced colleagues and contributors - their work sets the benchmarks and is deeply important to what we do.

Editor’s Note: “Once More with Feeling,” presented virtually in May 2021 and is available for IES members to view on demand. Login and view here