LIT Lighting Design Awards 2024 winners push boundaries through transformative lighting design

The winners of the 8th edition of the LIT Lighting Design Awards have been announced. Chosen from over 800 submissions originating from 58 countries, the winners represent the best in Lighting Product Design, Architectural, and Entertainment Lighting Design. A jury of 35 professionals, including architects, interior designers, academics, and media representatives, evaluated the entries. 

In addition to the winning projects, the Awards is also honoring renowned lighting designer Allen Lee Hughes. With a career spanning five decades, Hughes’ work has profoundly influenced lighting design in theatre, opera, and dance, in which he’s designed lighting for twelve Broadway productions.

As said by the Awards’ Director, Astrid Hébert: “With over 800 submissions this year and our 10th anniversary coming up, it’s exciting to see how lighting design continues to transform spaces and inspire change. Honoring Allen Lee Hughes for his exceptional career is a celebration of his immense influence and the lasting impact he’s had on the industry.”

Architectural Lighting Design Winner: Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto by Zerlina Hughes of Studio ZNA (UK)

Project Description: "Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto is the first UK exhibition dedicated to the work of Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel, charting the establishment of the House of CHANEL and the evolution of her iconic design style.The lighting design was key in allowing visitors to appreciate the objects with their exquisite details, forms, textures and materiality in close viewing - achieved at low conservation light levels whilst also creating a wider luminous, elegant layered lightscape within the exhibition world they inhabit. Inspired by Storey Studio’s approach, the Studio proposed the visitors experience the objects under subtly shifting light treatments, moving through the sections from morning, noon, afternoon, dusk to night time in both exterior and interior, rural and urban contexts. At times this was abstracted:in the entrance sequences with fresh crisp morning lightand in the perfume room where an effect of beams of light passing through a gold liquid perfume bottle was created. At other times, more suggestive in the evening wear section through elegantly shifting dappled light supporting both thematic narrative and evoking mood, contemplation and wonder. With 200 objects of fashion, textile, accessories and photography, such sensitive works required careful choreography and by working closely with the designers an exciting and varied visual journey was created throughout the show."

Entertainment Lighting Design Winner: The Creation by Takahiro Matsuo of LUCENT (China)

Project Description: "This spectacular 'The Creation' installation features light, shapes, and sound. It is composed of three scenes: 'Birth,' 'Shine,' and 'Vortex.' The dynamic phenomena created by the intense clustering of lights evoke the origins of the 'universe and nature' while simultaneously capturing the immense creativity of 'human beings' who construct artificial structures and exhibit a powerful burst of creative energy. This unique spatial art is visualized through light and objects. The design was initially conceived using digital computer graphics and physical simulations to create a galaxy-like density of dots. Along the 3D coordinate positions, approximately 20,000 acrylic spheres of varying sizes, both transparent and translucent, were positioned. Twelve projection units surrounding the spheres generate numerous light clusters that flicker and transform intensely, sometimes merging into a massive light formation. The structure consists of extremely thin wires that hold the spheres close together, minimizing the shadows cast by the wires. This cable-less structure gives an overwhelming impression of floating light. Moreover, by projecting images from all directions, the texture, color gradations, and seamless flickering of the light are achieved in a manner unattainable with LED or laser projection."

Lighting Product Design Winner: Pipe Lighting by Eduard Bochanov and Evgenij Vetlugin of Pipe Lighting Gmbh (Germany)

Project Description: "Having worked on film shoots in the lighting department, we have seen a variety of lighting challenges on set that have been solved with a number of very different light sources, diffusers, and support devices. These solutions are interdependent and often cumbersome and require additional support systems, bulky transportation, a lot of crew members and plenty of installation time. That's why we came up with a device that solves a number of basic problems in lighting on film sets. The shape and rigidity of our products are provided with air inside the shell. As a result, the soft shell becomes the supporting structure for the light source - LED stripes inside of the device. The white part of the shell is an effective diffuser - essentially an integrated soft box - for the built-in light source. And the distribution of light sources inside of the shell and the volume of air ensure uniform and sufficient heat dissipation, thus eliminating the need for heavy radiators and/or fans."

Take a look at other recognized projects from this year's architectural lighting design category.