Header: SOFTlab, Google
As 2024 is ending, it’s time to wrap up the achievements and emphasize the year’s highs. Throughout this year, we’ve written about many different design projects, art installations, and award-winning creations. Today we are highlighting the best lighting design projects. From the Sun Temple and scientific art installation to a mesmerizing oasis in the heart of NYC, these five projects have been chosen for their unique lighting solutions that innovated buildings, emphasized unique designs, and added creativity to help transform spaces.
Each project demonstrates how lighting can evoke emotions and redefine the relationship between people and their environment. These 5 designs pushed the boundaries of the possibilities of contemporary lighting design and made 2024 a remarkable year in the world of art and technology.
The Sun Temple
The Sun Temple in Modhera, Gujarat, dedicated to the solar deity Surya, is a stunning monument built during the Chalukya dynasty (after 1026-27 CE) along the banks of the Pushpavati River. This architectural marvel, now a protected site under the Archaeological Survey of India, showcases the brilliance of its era. In a modern twist, Innovative Lighting Designs Limited (ILDL) was entrusted with illuminating this ancient treasure with the lighting design crafted by Design Factory India. The carefully planned lighting scheme enhances the temple’s grandeur, using high-quality products from Litolux to complement its timeless beauty.
Halo Pavilion
Located next to Google’s new headquarters in Mountain View, Halo by SOFTlab is a striking pavilion inspired by the romantic pavilions found in English gardens. Visible from nearby traffic thoroughfares, this cylindrical structure is punctuated with arches at the base, offering glimpses into its interior and creating an intriguing contrast between the simple exterior and the crystalline, dichroic acrylic-clad interior.
During the day, sunlight pours through the open top of the cylinder. It reflects off the interior’s iridescent facets, casting shifting colors of orange, green, and yellow onto visitors and the surrounding area. At night, LEDs embedded in the upper portions of the structure’s aluminum tubes create a constellation of light filtered through the crystalline interior, with the dichroic facets glowing in green, blue, and purple hues.
Little Island in NYC
Designed by the renowned team at Fisher Marantz Stone, Inc., under the leadership of Enrique Garcia-Carrera with designers Paul Marantz and Miyoung Song-Carroll, the lighting of Little Island transforms it into a luminous haven, where light and shadow subtly interact. Discreet, low-level lighting along pathways guides visitors, ensuring a seamless journey that highlights the island’s beauty while preserving panoramic views of the Hudson River. This harmonious balance between illumination and shadow fosters an atmosphere of safety, intimacy, and exploration, encouraging visitors to wander and reflect.
Geist Artwork
Collaborating with leading particle physicists, This is Loop found inspiration in the elusive neutrino, often called the “ghost particle,” for their project Geist, created by Harriet Lumby and Alan Hayes. Neutrinos, nearly massless and barely interacting with matter, are notoriously difficult to detect, a concept beautifully reflected in the artwork. Geist debuted at two major UK events this year: Canary Wharf Winter Lights and Nottingham Light Night in Sneinton Market.
This milestone project highlights This is Loop’s ability to merge art, science, and technology, captivating international audiences due to its interactive nature. The suspended light particle activates only when visitors approach and move around it. Utilizing individually programmable LED modules, the sculpture reacts with flickering and shimmering lights in response to human presence.
Dior’s Carousel of Dreams at Saks
Saks and Dior have joined forces to create a breathtaking holiday transformation of the Saks Fifth Avenue New York flagship, featuring a spectacular light show and the most extensive holiday window display in Saks’ history. A grand wheel of fortune is a motif originally designed by Pietro Ruffo and reimagined for Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Dior Cruise 2024 show.
The facade showcases Dior’s Carousel of Dreams, inspired by the Dior Cruise 2024 collection and adorned with botanical icons, celestial motifs, and Dior symbols like stars and Zodiac signs. By day, it stands as an intricate sculptural masterpiece with watercolor effects and metallic elements crafted by global artisans. By night, it dazzles with nearly 300,000 LED lights set to a magical musical medley.
