Thoughtfully designed and regularly maintained lighting has an outsized impact on the nature of our built environment. It can be a signifier of prosperity and an indicator of our under-resourced areas. Join local lighting designers Mark Loeffler and Cait Toczko for a walk through downtown New Haven to see a wide range of outdoor lighting and how it impacts the experiences of different communities in our city. We’ll consider both the qualitative and the equitable aspects of light, considering each through the frames of functionality, comfort, and aesthetics.
Refreshments and networking will be hosted at Olives & Oil from 5-7pm with Mark and Cait directing tours every 15-30 minutes starting around 5:15. The tour will involve about 30 minutes of walking over city sidewalks, with moderate incline. Parking validation available at the event for those parked in Temple Street Garage.
For more information on why lighting is a critical part of equitable urban design, visit LightJustice.org.
Presented by:
- Mark Loeffler, IALD, IES, LEED Fellow retired from active consulting at the end of 2021. Based in Connecticut, Mark has dedicated more than thirty years to designing joyful, invigorating, healthful, and sustainable architectural lighting for notable academic, healthcare, research, corporate, institutional, and recreational buildings in the US and around the world. He is a professional member of the International Association of Lighting Designers, a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society, and a LEED Fellow. Currently, he serves on the IES Sustainability Committee as an advisory member. During his career, Mark has written, taught, and lectured widely which he plans to continue, especially in his advocacy for lighting’s role in social and environmental justice.
- Cait Toczko, Assoc. IALD, IES, WELL AP, LEED GA is Newman Architects’ in-house Senior Lighting Designer. As Newman’s expert in lighting design, she works as an integral part of its teams to develop and deliver effective lighting solutions in a wide variety of project types. She joined Newman in 2022 and uses both her background in architecture and her knowledge of the impact of lighting on health and wellness and ecological theories in lighting to generate and refine human-centric, sustainable lighting designs. Her work includes ambitious WELL, LEED, and LBC projects for Yale University, Fairfield University, NYU Medical Center, New York Public Library, and Delos, among others. Caitlin holds an M.S. in Architectural Sciences with a Concentration in Lighting from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is a WELL AP, a LEED GA, as well as an associate member of the International Association of Lighting Designers. Caitlin also serves as a Board Member of the Western New England chapter of the Illuminating Engineering Society, and as a Board Advisor for the Connecticut Green Building Council. Caitlin always seeks to carefully craft atmosphere using the medium of light and seeks to "create joy with light" in every project she works on.