The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), is an industry-backed, not-for-profit, learned society that was founded in New York City on January 10, 1906. It is an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited standards developer (ASD). The IES's stated mission is "to improve the lighted environment by bringing together those with lighting knowledge and by translating that knowledge into actions that benefit the public".
Since 1906, when the IES was legally incorporated, the IES has always been known as the "IES". However, in 1981 the 6th edition IES Lighting Handbook published the phrase, "Illuminating Engineering Society of North America("IESNA"). The "IESNA" moniker persisted until it was removed in 2010 when the 10th Edition of Lighting Handbook was released. The IES is a global organization with sections worldwide and solely related to North America.
The Society is headquartered in New York City. The IES is divided into approximately 100 local sections.
Notably, the London-based Society of Light and Lighting (a part of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers), was originally founded in 1909 as another "Illuminating Engineering Society".
Publications
The IES is credited with over 100 publications on the subject of lighting such as The Lighting Handbook: 10th Edition. Other publications, many of which are ANSI or ASHRAE standards, include recommended practices for a variety of specific lighting applications such as office, sports, and outdoor lighting, and lighting for healthcare facilities. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) references several IES publications for Optical Radiation Calibrations. The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) makes several references to the IES and its publications in its Outdoor Lighting Code Handbook.
IES published Transactions of the Illuminating Engineering Society from 1906 to 1939, and replaced it with the monthly Illuminating Engineering in 1940. The latter was succeeded by two IES publications in 1971: Lighting Design & Application (LD&A) magazine and the Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society. The magazine was renamed LD+A in 1982, and the journal was renamed LEUKOS in 2004.
Notably, the London-based namesake described above published its own Transactions of the Illuminating Engineering Society until 1968.
LEUKOS is published by Taylor & Francis with four issues per year.
LD+A is published by Sage Journals and is free to members.
Illumination Awards
Annually since 1973, the IES Illumination Awards program has recognized individual engineers and lighting designers for meritorious original design in a nominated project. While local sections may offer their own awards, there are five international award categories: The Edwin F. Guth Memorial Award for Interior Lighting Design The Outdoor Lighting Design Award sponsored by Eaton's Cooper Lighting Business, formerly the Paul Waterbury Award for Outdoor Lighting Design The Energy and Environmental Design Award sponsored by Osram Sylvania The Lighting Control Innovation Award, sponsored by the NEMA's Lighting Controls Association The Aileen Page Cutler Memorial Award for Residential Lighting Design
The Edwin F. Guth Memorial Award for Interior Lighting Design The awards are for an outstanding balance of function and aesthetic in interior lighting projects Year Award of Distinction Award of Excellence2022 (49th)Available Light and Darkhorse Lightworks for Academy of Motion Pictures Exhibit Lighting Los Angeles YOD Design Lab for Buddha-Bar New York Christensen Lighting for Hall of Ancient Egypt, Houston Museum of Natural Science2021 (48th)Glint Lighting Design for Chongqing Changshou Sales Gallery in Chongqing, China WSP USA for Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas WSP USA, Isometrix for The West Hollywood Edition in Las Vegas2020 (47th)Speirs Major for Re-lighting of Interior of Norwich CathedralASlight for Euphoria Retreat Spa Resort in Mystras, Greece ATL Lighting Design Shanghai Company for Confucian Palace in Qufu, China Charter Sills & Associates for Chicago Union Station Great Hall Restoration2019 (46th)Brandston Partnership for Sunac Sales Center, Shanghai, China Lux Populi for Lakeview Penthouse, Chicago KOIZUMI Lighting Technology for Kyoto Kaguraoka Ren Getsu-So, Kyoto, Japan Tillotson Design Associates for Gateway Arch Museum, St. LouisExpolight for "Smartass" Sports Club, Kyiv, Ukraine Gallegos Lighting Design for DreamWorks Animation Zone, Dubai, UAE Lightcraft for Hearst Digital Media, New York City Eric Johnson Associates for Silver Oak Alexander Valley Winery Interior, Healdsburg, CA USA2018 (45th)Kugler Ning Lighting for McKim, Mead & White – Dining Room Restoration, New York City SmithGroupJJR Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Terminal 3 Renovation, Phoenix Museum of the Bible, Washington, D.C. Wutopia Lab for Underground Forest In Onepark Gubei, Shanghai2017 (44th)Fisher Marantz Stone for World Trade Center Transportation Hub, New York City Architecture & Light for EDMUNDS.COM, Santa Monica, CA The Flaming Beacon Lighting Designers for Park Hyatt Sanya Sunny Bay Resort Public Areas, Hainan, China LD Studio for Museum of Tomorrow, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Raul Osses – Limarí Lighting Design for Bahá’í Temple Of South America, Peñalolén, Santiago, Chile2016 (43rd)Lighting Planners Associates for Minna No Mori Gifu Media Cosmos, Gifu, Japan Tillotson Design Associates for Lincoln Square Synagogue, New York City2015 (42nd)Arup Lighting Brown University Building for Environmental Research and Teaching Providence Fulton Center New York City Applied Engineering Solutions for Guildford recreation Centre Aquatic Addition Surrey, British Columbia Auerbach Glasow French for California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Salon Doré San Francisco Birkenstock Lighting Design for SFOT3 BAE San Francisco Kugler Ning Lighting Design Restoration of the Nave of Yale Sterling Memorial Library New Haven, CT McKim, Mead & White Library Restoration New York City W Lakeshore Hotel Lobby and Restaurant Renovation Chicago Sean O’Connor Lighting for Volvér by José Garces PhiladelphiaCooley Monato Studio for Barneys Beverly Hills, CA SmithGroupJJR for Microsoft Mississauga, Ontario2014 (41st)Cooley Monato Studio, BBG-BBGM for Waldorf = Astoria Park Avenue Lobby & Entry New York City Mindseye for St. Moritz Church Augsburg, GermanyAKF Group Lighting Design for Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Boston Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design, Inc. for Baldwin Auditorium Renovation, Duke University Durham, NC HLB Lighting Design for Verizon Innovation Center San Francisco Lighting Design Alliance for Hyde at American Airlines Arena Miami MCLA Inc. for University of Baltimore Angelos Law Center Baltimore Minuscule Lighting Design for West Berkeley Public Library Berkeley, CA Schuler Shook City Performance Hall Dallas Saenger Theatre New Orleans Sladen Feinstein Integrated Lighting Inc. for MIT Barker Engineering Library Reading Room Cambridge, MA2013 (40th)PritchardPeck Lighting for Velti San Francisco HeadquartersCreative Designs in Lighting for Cole Capital Phoenix HGA Architects and Engineers for Lakewood Cemetery Garden Mausoleum Minneapolis Lighting Planners Associates for Ise Shrine Sengu Museum Sean O’Conner Lighting Sweet Crush Los Angeles Venture Capital Office Building Menlo Park, CA2012 (39th)Light and Design, Illuminart for Qatar National Convention Centre- Concourses Doha, Qatar Lighting Design Alliance for UCLA Infusion Center Los Angeles Ron Neal Lighting Design for Immaculata San Diego2011 (38th)ICE Illumination of City Environment for Happo-En: Hakuhou-Kan Hall Renovation, TokyoFocus Lighting for Science Storms At The Museum Of Science And Industry, Chicago Kahori Mori-Iris Associates for New Temple In Ekō-in Renfro Design Group for The Morgan Library & Museum-Mckim Restoration2010 (37th)Speirs Major for Armani Store, 5Th Avenue Nihon Sekkei, Inc. for Izunome Tokyo Parsons Brinckerhoff for Mizu Salon, Boston2009 (36th)Speirs Major for Entrance and Atrium, 3 More London Riverside London Lightbrigade Architectural Lighting for Murale Toronto Fisher Marantz Stone for Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar Licht Kunst Licht for Novartis Campus Reception Building and Underground Carpark Basel Switzerland Speirs Major for Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque Abu Dhabi, UAE Lighting Design Alliance for Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart Houston2008 (35th)Office of Visual Interaction for United States Air Force MemorialHorton Lees Brogden Lighting Design for Creative Artists Agency Headquarters Derek Porter Studio for Hodgdon Powder Facility, Herrington, KS Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design for the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Costa Mesa, CA Lighting Planners Associates for Midland Square, Aichi, Japan
Special Citation 2022 Daisuki Light Inc. for Ichijo-Toma Co-op Olympia Tokyo (Philosophical Approach to Residential Lighting Design); Lighting M Inc. for Fukokuseimei Building Lobby Renovation Tokyo (Main Lobby Ceiling with Regard to Tunability and Application of Light to Transform a Space) 2020 Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design; Duda/Paine Architects for Center For Health And Wellbeing, Winter Park in FL, USA (Enhancing a Strong Architectural Form) 2019 Schuler Shook, Perfido Weiskopf Wagstaff + Goettel, Martinez & Johnson Architecture/OTJ for Cincinnati Music Hall, Cincinnati (Historical Renovation) and Alvine Engineering for OPS JP LORD, Omaha, NE USA (Strong Correlation Between Lighting Design and Users of the Space) 2018 School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, X Studio for Shangping Village Regeneration, Xiyuan Town, Jianning County, Sanming City, Fujian Province, China (Innovative Use of Color and Materials) and Licht Kunst Licht AG for HSBC Cafeteria, Düsseldorf, Germany (Human Centric Illumination in a Daylight Deprived Space) 2017 The Lighting Practice, Inc. for Case Western Reserve University, The Milton And Tamar Maltz Performing Arts Center, Cleveland, OH (Meeting the Technical Challenge of Transforming a Historic Building into a Performance Space); Illumination of City Environment for Tokyu Plaza Ginza, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Grand Sight Design International Limited for Intercontinental Beijing Sanlitun, Beijing, China (Attention to Detailing & Sensitivity to the Architecture); KGM Architectural Lighting for Westfield Terminal 2 At Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CA (Internal Backlighting of Sculptural Elements) 2016 NBBJ for 1201 3rd Ave Public Spaces Renovation, Seattle (Execution and Simplicity); Morrissey Engineering for Blue Barn, Omaha, NE (Use of Light as a Beacon that Enhances the Community Culture); Nikken Sekkei for Narita International Airport Second Passenger Terminal Building (Integration of Daylight and Electric Light Within Circulation Spaces to Enhance User Experience); AES for Ubc Student Union Building, Vancouver, British Columbia (Architectural Integration and Coordination) 2009 George Sexton Associates for Star-Spangled Banner Exhibit National Museum of American History Washington, D.C. (Uniform Illumination of a Large Artifact from a Single Source) 2008 Douglas Welch Design Associates, Ltd. for Museo del Acero – Furnace Show, Monterrey, Mexico (Metaphoric alliteration)
The Outdoor Lighting Design Award The awards are for an outstanding built environment solution by aesthetic, creative, and fine technical aspects of outdoor lighting projects with a good understanding of activities.
Year Award of Distinction Award of Excellence2022 (49th)Lam Partners for SoFi Stadium Inglewood, CALux Populi for NorthConnex Sydney, Australia2021 (48th)Kugler Ning Lighting for Fotografiska in New York City2020 (47th)Skira for GTC Matrix in Zagreb, Croatia NAC Engineering for Riverfront Park Pavilion in Spokane, WA USABrandston Partnership for Jinzunbao Experience Center in Luzhou, China2019 (46th)Brilliant Lighting Studio for Von Karman Creative Campus, Irvine, CA