LIT Lighting Design Awards 2024 Winners Revealed, Allen Lee Hughes Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award

Lambadistis Winery, Archtube Ltd.

Photo credit: George Rahmatoulin

Baar, Switzerland, 2024-11-28 – The 8th edition of the LIT Lighting Design Awards has celebrated exceptional achievements in lighting design across multiple categories, showcasing groundbreaking projects from designers around the world. With over 800 submissions from 58 countries, the awards highlighted creativity, innovation, and sustainability in lighting design. A jury of 35 esteemed professionals, including architects, interior designers, academics, and media representatives, evaluated the entries, recognizing the most outstanding contributions to the field.

Photo credit: Thomas Adank

Studio ZNA, led by Zerlina Hughes, received the top honor in Architectural Lighting Design for Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The design beautifully mirrored the themes of time and texture, enhancing the exhibit’s narrative. In Entertainment Lighting Design, Takahiro Matsuo of LUCENT won for The Creation, a mesmerizing installation featuring 20,000 suspended acrylic spheres, illuminated to evoke the origins of the universe.

Photo credit: Pipe Lighting Gmbh.

In Lighting Product Design, Evgenii Vetlugin and Eduard Bochanov of Pipe Lighting GmbH earned recognition for their innovative, eco-friendly LED system designed for film sets, combining portability with high efficiency. In the Emerging Designer categories, Vaida Atkocaityte-Dalisanskiene from Vilnius Academy of Arts won for MOOD, a modular lamp designed with sustainable materials that allows users to create light compositions reflecting emotions and daily rhythms. Meanwhile, David Yang and Margo Majewska from the California College of the Arts stood out in Lighting Design with Light in Motion, an installation inspired by Southwest canyons that immerses visitors in a dynamic lightscape.

Photo credit: Vaidotas Darulis

Emerging Designers Vaida Atkocaityte-Dalisanskiene and David Yang and Margo Majewska will each receive a CHF 1,000 cash prize and a 6-month mentorship through the Silhouette Awards program.

Coqodaq, L'Observatoire International.

Photo credit: Jason Varney

Other standout projects included Nebula by Patrizia Volpato Srl, an exquisite artisan glass-blown light, Whiz 2.0 Bi-directional by Meteor Lighting, and Silk Court Apartment by CMA Lighting Design. L’Observatoire International’s Coqodaq in bar and restaurant lighting, the China Pavilion at the 2023 Venice Biennale by Brandston Partnership Inc., and Licht Kunst Licht AG’s work at Casals Forum in Kronberg were also recognized.

Allen Lee Hughes

Photo credit: Allen Lee Hughes

This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Allen Lee Hughes, a lighting design icon whose five-decade career has profoundly influenced theatre, opera, and dance. Hughes’ artistry and technical expertise have set a global standard in lighting design, elevating performances and transforming spaces. His contributions to Broadway, off-Broadway, and major performing arts companies worldwide have earned him four Tony Award nominations, with notable works like Once on This Island (1990), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (2012), and A Soldier’s Play (2020).

Fotografiska New York, Kugler Ning Lighting.

Photo credit: David Sundberg/Esto

In addition to his Broadway success, Hughes has worked with the American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and National Ballet of Canada, among many others. He serves as an Associate Arts Professor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where he continues to mentor the next generation of lighting designers. Hughes has received numerous awards, including the USITT Distinguished Achievement Award (2003) and the Michael Merritt Award (1997), and he is the founder of the Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship, which promotes diversity in the theatre industry.

Peabody Museum Renovation & Expansion, Yale University. Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design.

Photo credit: Peter Aaron/OTTO

“Thank you so much for this LIT Awards lifetime achievement award. It is great to have recognition for some fifty-six years of professional work,” Hughes remarked. “The award means a great deal to me and all of my many collaborators. Over the years, I have attempted to help tell hundreds of stories through my work as a lighting designer. There is a glorious feeling when we are rewarded with an audience that reaps pleasure and knowledge from our work. I appreciate you giving the efforts public attention”.

Peabody Museum Renovation & Expansion, Yale University. Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design.

Photo credit: Peter Aaron/OTTO

To discover the full list of LIT Lighting Design Awards 2024 winners, and to learn more about their outstanding work, please visit litawards.com/winners. These exceptional designers continue to shape the future of lighting, inspiring innovation and creativity across the globe.

Cave Pool, C&A Design Group.

Photo credit: Mikael Benard

About LIT Lighting Design Awards:

The LIT Lighting Design Awards is a leading global program recognizing excellence in lighting design. It is part of the 3C Awards, which also includes the BLT Built Design Awards (BLT), SIT Furniture Design Award (SIT), and LIV Hospitality Design Awards (LIV). LIT celebrates both professional and emerging designers for their outstanding contributions to the lighting design industry, offering a platform for innovation and inspiring change worldwide. More information can be found at litawards.com.