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If your project depends on atmosphere, glare control, wayfinding, artwork conservation, or a convincing transition from daylight to evening, hire an architectural lighting designer while the architect and interior team are still setting the concept. Architectural Digest’s August 25, 2026 AD PRO Sourcebook profiles 11 practices that span private homes, museums, airports, restaurants, parks, heritage sites, and civic buildings. “AD-approved” is the publication’s editorial framing—not a license, ranking, or independent quality certification.
The useful way to read the list is as a shortlist by project fit. Each firm has a different mix of residential, cultural, hospitality, landscape, daylighting, environmental, mock-up, and international experience. The profiles do not publish fees, minimum project sizes, current availability, or independently verified outcomes, so confirm those points directly before appointing a designer.
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A lighting specialist develops how a place is seen and experienced, not merely which fixtures to buy. The work can include daylight analysis, concealed and decorative sources, controls, exterior and landscape illumination, artwork and collection lighting, glare management, light-art installations, mock-ups, energy and maintenance decisions, and coordination with the architect, interior designer, electrical engineer, contractor, and owner.
That scope explains why timing matters. A specialist brought in after ceilings, millwork, façades, and electrical routes are fixed may be limited to swapping fixtures. In the concept and schematic stages, the designer can influence ceiling heights, reveal details, power and control zones, exterior sightlines, nighttime identity, and the relationship between natural and electric light. Hervé Descottes of L’Observatoire International says the designer should be “not only as a technical consultant but also as a creative partner,” aligned with an architect as a director of photography works with a film director.
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The 11 firms at a glance
| Firm | Locations reported by AD | Project evidence or distinctive method |
|---|---|---|
| Fisher Marantz Stone | New York, Austin, Seattle | Environmentally minded practice; solar solutions; major cultural, transportation, and civic work |
| Focus Lighting | Brooklyn | Light lab for testing schemes in different conditions; residential and commercial interiors |
| HLB Lighting Design | 10 offices worldwide (as reported) | Light-art installations, daylighting, residential studio, international AD100 collaborations |
| John Cullen Lighting | London, Paris, Dubai, Mumbai, Dallas | Residential new builds, renovations, and historically sensitive homes |
| Lighting Workshop | Brooklyn, Southampton | Balances technology, maintenance, and sustainability; experiential approach |
| Linnaea Tillett Lighting Design Associates | New York | Ecologically sensitive lighting for residences, memorials, gardens, and cultural sites |
| L’Observatoire International | Not stated in the profile | Creative-partner model; early involvement; cultural and luxury projects |
| Orsman Design | New York, Miami | Designs for how a space should feel after sunset; discreet, atmosphere-first residential work |
| Luumbre by RegensDesign | Los Angeles | Site-specific residential, retail, and civic work; interactive healthcare lighting |
| Speirs Major Light Architecture | London, Tokyo | Civic, cultural, hospitality, residential, heritage, and large public-realm projects |
| Tirschwell Lighting Design | New York, Los Angeles | Small- and large-scale mock-ups using actual light sources and materials |
The office counts and locations above are what the AD profile reported in 2026; they can change. “Not stated” means the article did not provide a location, not that the firm lacks one.
Firm-by-firm profiles
Fisher Marantz Stone (FMS)
FMS is presented as an environmentally minded practice that includes solar solutions in its thinking. AD lists offices in New York, Austin, and Seattle and cites the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and Pittsburgh International Airport among recent projects. The article also notes membership in the U.S. Green Building Council and the International Dark-Sky Association. Those memberships and project descriptions are profile points, not an independently checked sustainability assessment. FMS is a logical interview candidate when a project combines cultural or transportation scale with environmental and nighttime-impact concerns.
Focus Lighting
Focus operates a Brooklyn light lab where designers mock up lighting schemes under different conditions. That testing orientation can be valuable when finishes, artwork, food presentation, or sightlines are difficult to judge from drawings alone. The profile says the firm works on residential and commercial projects with designers including GRT Architects and Ken Fulk, and names the Ambassadors Clubhouse restaurant in New York and Nancy Mah’s Hudson Valley home. Partner Brett Anderson describes using light creatively to help architects and designers deliver work that is memorable and beautiful.
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HLB Lighting Design
Jules G. Horton founded HLB in Manhattan in 1968. AD reports 10 offices worldwide and services that include light-art installations and daylighting, along with a residential studio. The profile describes collaborations with AD100 designers on projects in the Hamptons, Silicon Valley, Key Biscayne, Jackson Hole, and Maui. Because the office count and service menu can change, verify both when you contact the firm. HLB’s reported combination of daylight, art, and geographically diverse residential work suits a house or mixed-use project that needs more than a conventional electrical-technical package.
John Cullen Lighting
Founded in 1981 by a lighting designer for the BBC, John Cullen Lighting is reported to have offices in London, Paris, Dubai, Mumbai, and Dallas. Its emphasis is residential new construction, renovations, and historically sensitive homes. AD names collaborations with Hill House Design, Louise Bradley, and Studio Shamshiri. If a renovation must preserve architectural character while adding discreet modern controls and illumination, ask for examples with comparable historic constraints, local code experience, and a clear approach to reversible interventions.
Lighting Workshop
Founder Doug Russell says “good lighting design should be richly experiential.” The Brooklyn and Southampton practice is described as weighing technology, maintenance, and sustainability goals while working with architecture and design firms. AD cites the Calvin Klein flagship in Tokyo, Brown University’s Applied Math building, and waterfront lighting for Domino Park in Brooklyn. That range suggests a useful fit for clients who want a strong visitor experience but also need a realistic plan for access, replacement, controls, and long-term operating costs.
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Linnaea Tillett Lighting Design Associates
The New York firm is described as having more than 35 years of work in ecologically sensitive lighting for residences, memorials, sculpture gardens, and other settings. Named projects include the Menil Residence Garden in Houston, The Confluence at Waterloo Greenway in Austin, and the Morgan Library & Museum and its garden in New York. Founder Linnaea Tillett says, “We pride ourselves in finding the poetic in the functional.” For a landscape, memorial, garden, or campus where ecology and human experience must coexist, ask how the team handles spill light, wildlife, planting growth, controls, and maintenance access.
L’Observatoire International
Founder Hervé Descottes argues that lighting designers should be creative partners and that early involvement is essential. He says the first question at a project’s start is, “Why are we doing this?” AD lists the Cartier Foundation in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and Harrods in London, plus collaborations with Annabelle Selldorf and Frank Gehry. This profile points toward culturally ambitious work in which the lighting concept is part of the architecture, visitor sequence, and identity—not a late decorative layer.
Orsman Design
Based in New York and Miami, Orsman Design asks, “How should a space feel after sunset?” Founder Nathan Orsman says the best result is when the lighting disappears and the environment feels as though it was always meant to be that way. AD names collaborations with Kelly Wearstler, Peter Marino, and Jamie Drake, as well as residences in Los Cabos and Central Park Tower. The practice may appeal to a high-end residence or hospitality interior where concealment, material rendering, and emotional tone matter more than visibly dramatic fixtures.
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Luumbre by RegensDesign
Los Angeles-based Luumbre by RegensDesign covers residential, retail, and civic projects with a site-specific approach. AD cites a residence in Melides, Portugal, and an interactive lighting design for the children’s wing at Cedars-Sinai Hospital. Founder Andres Regens compares collaboration to “dancing tango”: the designer reads the architectural principles, understands the client and team, and moves to their rhythm. For a project with a distinctive local context or an experience-driven program, ask how the team translates that context into controls, durability, user interaction, and a buildable documentation set.
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Speirs Major Light Architecture
Founded in 1993, Speirs Major is described as operating from London and Tokyo across civic, cultural, hospitality, and residential sectors. AD names the At-Turaif World Heritage Site in Saudi Arabia and a tree-shaped park in China, with collaborators including Universal Design Studio, Skidmore Owings and Merrill, and Heatherwick Studio. Its reported portfolio is relevant to public-realm, heritage, and large-scale projects that require coordination across architecture, landscape, wayfinding, visitor safety, and local authorities.
Tirschwell Lighting Design
The New York and Los Angeles firm focuses on luxury residential work and uses both small- and large-scale mock-ups with actual light sources and authentic materials. Founder Matthew Tirschwell says the team does not rely solely on renderings, but creates and refines physical tests. AD names collaborations with Peter Marino, Tadao Ando, Deborah Berke, and Meyer Davis. Physical testing is especially useful when stone, wood, plaster, textiles, or artwork react unpredictably to beam spread and color. Confirm what the mock-up includes, who pays for fabrication, and how approved results become construction documents.
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How to choose among the firms
Use the following sequence to turn an editorial list into a defensible shortlist.
- Define the project and its scale. Write down whether this is a new home, renovation, hotel, restaurant, museum, workplace, landscape, public space, heritage site, or campus. Include approximate area, locations, schedule, and whether the work is interior, exterior, or both.
- Match evidence to the problem. Look for comparable project types rather than the most famous name. A historic-home renovation needs different evidence from a park, airport, or museum. Ask for two or three relevant examples and the firm’s actual scope on each.
- Check geography and delivery capacity. Confirm the office that would serve the project, travel expectations, local code familiarity, time-zone coverage, and who will attend design reviews and site visits. Reported office counts are not guarantees of current staffing.
- Ask when the designer joins. The strongest fit is usually someone available during concept or schematic design. Establish deliverables for concept, design development, documentation, bidding, mock-ups, commissioning, and post-occupancy support.
- Inspect the review method. Find out whether the team uses a light lab, physical mock-ups, daylight studies, computer visualization, on-site aiming, or a combination. Ask how revisions are recorded and approved.
- Make operations part of the brief. Request a controls narrative, lamp or LED replacement strategy, access plan, cleaning requirements, warranty responsibilities, and a realistic maintenance sequence. Technology that cannot be serviced will not perform as designed.
- Clarify collaboration. Identify the architect, interior designer, electrical engineer, landscape architect, contractor, and owner representative. Ask who owns fixture schedules, reflected-ceiling coordination, control zones, submittal review, and field decisions.
- Obtain a written proposal. The AD list gives no fees, project minimums, availability, or ranking. Get a scope, exclusions, reimbursables, meeting assumptions, travel costs, schedule, and payment terms directly from each finalist.
Questions to ask in the first interview
- Which completed project most closely resembles ours, and what was your responsibility?
- At what stage would you start, and what decisions would you need before the first concept package?
- How do you test light on our actual materials, finishes, landscape, or artwork?
- How will daylight, glare, light trespass, dark-sky concerns, and neighboring properties be addressed?
- How do controls work for daily scenes, cleaning, events, security, and failure recovery?
- Who will be our day-to-day contact, and who will attend site visits?
- What information do you need from the electrical engineer and contractor, and when?
- Can you provide references for projects delivered at a similar scale and complexity?
Limits of the AD list
Architectural Digest’s AD PRO Sourcebook article by Diana Budds, published August 25, 2026, is the basis for these 11 profiles and the count of 11 firms. It establishes what the publication says about their approaches, locations, collaborators, and named projects. It does not independently verify credentials, current offices, project completion, fees, performance, energy savings, availability, or client satisfaction. Treat the list as a starting point for due diligence, then verify licenses or registrations required in your jurisdiction, insurance, references, conflicts, and contractual responsibility.
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