LIT Awards 2025 Spotlight Global Lighting Excellence

The LIT Lighting Design Awards 2025 returns with another sweeping global showcase of architectural and product innovation, demonstrating how light continues to shape the way people perceive space, memory, and emotion. With submissions from 62 countries, this year’s edition reaffirms the profound cultural and technological impact of contemporary lighting design. The LIT Lighting Design Awards stands as one of the most influential platforms dedicated to honoring the creative and social power of illumination.

Honoring Poetic and Transformative Architectural Lighting

This year’s Architectural Lighting Design of the Year, Memorial Brumadinho, created by Atiaia Lighting Design and architect Gustavo Penna, illustrates how light can act as both guide and storyteller. The lighting narrative leads visitors through groves, water elements, and contemplative spaces that honor the 272 victims of Brazil’s 2019 dam collapse. Through orchestrated shadows and illumination, the project blends architecture and emotion, transforming a place of tragedy into a symbol of resilience.

Entertainment and Installation Design Pushing New Boundaries

Studio JT’s Arc ZERO: Eclipse in Seoul won Entertainment Lighting Design of the Year for redefining how atmosphere and reflection merge into an immersive form. An eight-meter stainless-steel ring hovers above a still pool, its geometry completed by mist and programmable lighting that responds to the surrounding air. Conceived by artist James Tapscott, the project stands between sculpture and optical phenomenon, emphasizing harmony between nature and technology.

Product Innovation Rooted in Craft and Sustainability

The Lighting Product Design of the Year, Amphora by One to One, reinterprets ancient vessel forms into modular chandeliers cast in solid bronze. With adjustable light direction and a patinated finish, Amphora bridges craftsmanship and contemporary needs. Emerging designer Yuxin Luo’s CinderGlow transforms recycled wood filament into a warm pendant inspired by California wildfire landscapes, turning burned material into a symbol of regeneration.

Recognizing Social Impact and Lifetime Contributions

The Spotlight Prize was awarded to GreenLamp, a Swiss non-profit improving maternal healthcare in rural Ethiopia through solar-powered lighting solutions. Their programs equip clinics with solar panels, LED kits, refrigerators, and medical tools, ensuring safe conditions for childbirth. The mission aligns with the values of the LIT Lighting Design Awards, celebrating projects with meaningful human impact.

The Lifetime Achievement Award honors Suzan Tillotson of Tillotson Design Associates. Her influential portfolio, including The Shed in New York and Bloomberg’s European Headquarters, reflects decades of contribution to architectural illumination marked by precision, humanity, and artistry.