From poetic acts of remembrance in Brazil to ethereal light installations in Seoul and visionary student projects in Venice, the LIT Lighting Design Awards 2025 once again celebrated the extraordinary creativity and conscience of the global lighting community. With over 1,000 entries from 62 countries, this year’s winners prove that light remains one of the most powerful tools to shape how we see, feel, and connect with the world.
The Architectural Lighting Design of the Year, Memorial Brumadinho by Atiaîa Lighting Design, is a deeply human project that transforms tragedy into collective memory. Designed by Mariana Novaes and her team in collaboration with Gustavo Penna Arquiteto e Associados, the memorial honours the 272 victims of the 2019 dam collapse in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Through a choreography of darkness and illumination, visitors are guided through groves, reflecting pools, and quiet spaces that evoke empathy and remembrance. Every beam of light tells a story of loss, resilience, and resistance against oblivion.
In Seoul, Studio JT’s Arc ZERO: Eclipse was named Entertainment Lighting Design of the Year, redefining how we perceive light, atmosphere, and reflection. The eight-meter stainless-steel ring floats above a still pool, its form completed by mist and light that respond to the changing air. Conceived by artist James Tapscott, the installation hovers between sculpture and phenomenon, a moment of quiet coexistence between technology and nature visible even from the city’s skyline.
The Lighting Product Design of the Year, Amphora by One to One by Martin Döller, pays tribute to the ancient vessels that once carried oil and wine. Cast in solid bronze and finished with a distinctive patina, each modular chandelier is both timeless and adaptable. With its sculptural seed-pod silhouette and adjustable light direction, Amphora embodies the perfect union of craftsmanship, sustainability, and emotion, a piece that feels as if it has grown naturally within its architectural setting.
Emerging lighting designers also shone bright this year. Flight into Shadow, created by students from the Deggendorf Institute of Technology, explores how light shapes perception, comfort, and relief in overheated urban environments. Presented during the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 as part of the Keep Cool! initiative, the project transforms the ephemeral dance of sunlight through leaves into an architectural experience, a living meditation on adaptation in a warming world.
Meanwhile, Yuxin Luo, from the ArtCenter College of Design, earned Emerging Lighting Product Designer of the Year with CinderGlow, a pendant inspired by the California wildfires. Crafted from recycled wood filament, the piece transforms burned material into a source of warmth and beauty, a poetic metaphor for regeneration and hope.
This year’s Spotlight Prize was awarded to GreenLamp, a Swiss non-profit empowering women and midwives across rural Ethiopia through its three-pillar approach: LEARN | LIGHT | LEAD. Since 2012, GreenLamp has improved maternal healthcare for over 1.6 million women by providing solar-powered lighting and solar equipment for safe childbirth. The 2025 award supports their upcoming expansion by providing lighting infrastructure and equipement to two additional rural clinics. Each new solar lighting package includes 100-watt solar panels, vaccine refrigerators, LED lighting kits, fetal Doppler monitors, thermometers, headlamps for midwives, and complete installation, maintenance, and training support, ensuring sustainable, reliable light where it is needed most.
In the words of Joanna Boyd, President of GreenLamp:“We are deeply honoured to receive the 2025 Spotlight Award from LIT Lighting Design Awards. This recognition highlights the importance of reliable, sustainable energy for women’s health. With every solar system we install, we help ensure that women can give birth safely, midwives can work with dignity, and communities can thrive. Thank you, LIT Lighting Design Awards, for supporting our mission to create brighter futures for women and babies in Ethiopia.”
At the pinnacle of this year’s celebration stands the Lifetime Achievement Award, honouring Suzan Tillotson, Founder and President of Tillotson Design Associates. A pioneer whose projects, including The Broad in Los Angeles, The Shed in New York, and Bloomberg’s European Headquarters in London, have defined the contemporary architectural landscape, Tillotson has illuminated some of the world’s most iconic cultural landmarks with a sensitivity that balances precision, art, and humanity.
Reflecting on her recognition, Suzan Tillotson shared: “I’ve been fortunate to spend my life doing something I love, surrounded by people who share the same passion for light and design. My hope is that this recognition inspires young people to see lighting as the incredible and meaningful profession that it is.”
Behind these remarkable achievements stands a distinguished LIT Lighting Design Awards jury, a collective of global leaders and innovators shaping the future of light. Among them are Florence Lam, Arup Fellow and Visiting Professor at The Bartlett UCL; Sally Storey, Creative Director at John Cullen Lighting; Claudia Paz, Founder of Claudia Paz Lighting Studio in Peru; Tupac Martir, multidisciplinary artist and Founder of Satore Studio; Amit Gupta, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of STIR; Thiago Gaya, Publisher of L+D Magazine and Founder of LEDforum Brazil; John (Randy) Reid, Editor of designing lighting (dl); and Mary Rushton-Beales, Principal at Lighting Design House in the UK. Together with over thirty influential professionals from the fields of architecture, performance, and academia, they evaluate entries on aesthetic merit, innovation, and social impact.
As Astrid Hébert, Co-Founder of the LIT Lighting Design Awards, reflects: “This year’s winners remind us that light has no borders; it speaks every language and touches every life. We’ve seen extraordinary projects from every corner of the world, each one proving that lighting design is a catalyst for empathy, connection, and change. Our two special prizes this year, dedicated to Suzan Tillotson and GreenLamp, celebrate women whose vision and compassion illuminate far beyond their work. Their achievements remind us we do this to celebrate light, not just as a design element, but as a force for humanity. We look forward to celebrating these remarkable talents together at the LIT Lighting Design Awards Ceremony in early summer 2026.”
To discover the complete list of LIT Lighting Design Awards 2025 winners and learn more about their outstanding work, please visit litawards.com/winners. These exceptional designers are shaping the future of lighting and continue to inspire innovation across the globe.
Header: Memorial Brumadinho. Atiaîa Lighting Design. Photo Credits: Pedro Mascaro and Courtesy of Fundação Memorial Brumadinho – Nitro.
