Crestron at the Light + Building 2026 Trade Show: A Recap
Showcasing the full ecosystem that shapes how buildings are designed, specified, and experienced
March 16
Crestron at the Light + Building 2026 Trade Show: A Recap

Crestron just wrapped up exhibiting at Frankfurt’s Light + Building trade show — an event which put us in front of roughly 150,000 visitors. For those unfamiliar with the show, the organizers tell us:

Light + Building uniquely brings together technically and design-oriented luminaires, components and accessories for lighting technology, as well as electronic installations, home and building automation and modern electrical engineering. It is a trade fair exclusively for professional visitors and unites experts from all segments: architecture, lighting design, electrical trades, system integration, retail, wholesale, industry, and manufacturing.

“It’s a hugely important event for Crestron because it brought together the full ecosystem that shapes how buildings are designed, specified, and experienced,” explains Michael Short, Crestron’s VP of marketing operations and residential. “Architects, designers, consultants, builders, and integrators were all in one place, creating a rare opportunity for meaningful conversations across disciplines.”

And as Short is quick to point out, the fact that the show embraces much more than lighting systems speaks to one of Crestron’s notable strengths. “At the core of Crestron is control, and controlling buildings through lighting, shading, AV, and environmental systems is central to everything we do across both commercial and residential markets,” he explains. “Light + Building sat right at that intersection. The show naturally aligned with our focus on intelligent spaces and gave us the perfect platform to demonstrate how control brings all these systems together into a cohesive experience.”

The Experience on Display

The Crestron booth at Light + Building continued an approach that we’ve been developing in the post-pandemic world: As people returned to live events, the focus shifted away from a collection of “black boxes.” “The booth was designed to show convergence in a very real and tangible way,” says Short. “Rather than presenting individual products in isolation, we brought all of our technologies together to demonstrate complete experiences. Visitors could see lighting control, shading control, AV distribution, collaboration technology, and user interfaces all working as one system.”

“From commercial collaboration spaces to residential lighting and shading demonstrations, the booth reinforced the idea that intelligent spaces are no longer about standalone solutions,” he adds. “Everything was connected through Crestron control, showing how a single platform can scale across different environments while delivering a consistent and intuitive user experience.”

That approach was again successful, as evidenced by attendee reaction. “Visitors immediately noticed how content, collaboration, and control were tightly integrated rather than ‘bolted’ together,” says Short. “Switching between meetings, managing content on displays, adjusting lighting and shades, or controlling the room experience all felt natural and effortless.”

An excellent example of that effortlessness was the intuitive nature of the 80 Series touch screens on display at the Crestron booth. “The ability to walk up and understand the system without explanation reinforced the value of a well-designed control layer that sits above increasingly complex technology,” he adds.

On Display: Commercial

Some of the commercial solutions in the Crestron booth at the Light + Building trade show included:

More Solutions — Including Lighting

A range of solutions purpose-built for modern work and hybrid spaces were on display, including Collab Compute, intelligent video, and DM NAX® Audio-over-IP. “They’re all made for spaces that demand solutions to be flexible, reliable, and easy to deploy,” says Short. “Collab Compute addressed the growing demand for consistent Microsoft Teams Rooms and Zoom Rooms software experiences across a wide range of spaces, from small huddle rooms to larger meeting environments.

“Intelligent video and DM NAX technology showed how automation and intelligence can dramatically improve meeting quality without adding complexity. Features like speaker tracking, AutoMeasure, and scalable network audio helped demonstrate how hybrid spaces can adapt automatically to different meeting styles, room sizes, and user expectations while remaining easy for IT and integrators to support.”

And, of course, lighting and shading integration products were front and center at the show. “Beyond the name of the show, lighting and shading played a central role in the booth because they directly impact comfort, well-being, and energy efficiency,” says Short. Integrating these systems with control and AV created environments that responded dynamically to how spaces were being used throughout the day.

“Shadow EMEA shades stood out in particular because they combined premium design, local availability, and deep integration with Crestron control. Visitors saw how shading could be treated as an active part of the experience rather than a passive architectural element, supporting everything from visual comfort and glare control to sustainability goals.”

On Display: Residential

Some of the residential solutions in the Crestron booth at the Light + Building trade show included:

Rounding Out the Experience

Open standards like KNX were a key part of the conversation at the show as well, according to Short: “Standards such as KNX are essential for long-term flexibility, interoperability, and investment protection, especially in large-scale building projects. Crestron’s support for KNX reinforced our commitment to working within open ecosystems rather than locking customers into closed environments. This approach gives architects, consultants, and building owners confidence that Crestron solutions can integrate with broader building systems today and adapt to future requirements over time.”

And those architects, consultants, owners — and integrators — were impressed with the experiences on display. “The feedback was extremely positive, particularly around the clarity of the story and the completeness of the solution,” says Short. “Architects and consultants appreciated seeing how design, technology, and control could be aligned from the very beginning of a project rather than integrated late in the process.

“Integrators responded strongly to the simplicity of deployment and configuration, especially with solutions like Collab Compute, DM NAX Audio-over-IP, and the updated control interfaces.” Short notes that the booth reflected real-world projects and challenges — rather than theoretical use cases.

Looking Ahead

Several clear trends emerged from the Light + Building 2026 trade show, according to Short. “Convergence will continue to accelerate, with lighting, shading, AV, and IT systems becoming increasingly interdependent. Simplicity at the user interface level will remain critical, even as systems behind the scenes become more powerful and intelligent.”

“There was also a strong focus on sustainability, well-being, and adaptability. Intelligent spaces are expected to respond to people, not the other way around.

“The conversations at the show reinforced that control will be the foundation that enables all of this, ensuring spaces remain flexible, future-ready, and genuinely human-centric.”

Come see us at our next event. Find one near you here.

featured products

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Collab Compute

Purpose-built for native platforms, with multi-camera intelligent video and professional AV connectivity, Collab Compute is your foundation for Hybrid Meetings.

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Crestron Home®

Crestron Home makes all the devices and systems work the way you want them to. One simple experience from multiple control devices – on the wall, on the counter, on the couch, on your phone.

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Crestron DM NVX AV-over-IP technology

DM NVX® AV-over-IP technology combines video, audio, USB, and control on a single platform to reliably distribute anything across your entire network — in real time, at the highest quality and security standards.

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