That's so much bullshit. They like things lighting up. The goddamn vacuum cleaner in the hall at Starfleet Command lights up in TWOK, as does Geordi LaForge's razor. It's somebody's idea of skiffy design, but that doesn't mean that it looks more plausibly futuristic, or is somehow more "future-proofed" as movie design, than using an actual high-tech facility as a location.
