DLFNY Announced the Winners of the 2025 Beacon Awards

Now in its second year, awards were presented in the following categories: Commercial Interior, Cultural Institution, Exterior, Retail, Residential, Hospitality, New York Project, Experiential, Architectural Product Design, Decorative Product Design, and a Special Citation for Social and Ecological Sustainability was also awarded this year.

L'Observatoire International, Buro Happold, Fisher Marantz Stone, Source Lighting Design, Focus Lighting, Lighting Workshop, Marvel, Filix Lighting, Focal Point, and Light Reach Network and Light for Lebanon (an initiative of Phoscope) are this year’s winning firms.

“For our second year, we listened to designers and added more project and product categories,” says Charles Pavarini III, chair of the Beacon Awards Committee. “Now designers have a greater opportunity to be recognized for their best work.”

2025 Beacon Award Winners

Commercial Interior Lighting Design: Transamerica Pyramid Center, L'Observatoire International

Credit: Courtesy SHVO

Following an extensive renovation, the tower’s interior lighting establishes a clean, defined, contemporary look. A dynamic LED system enables the pyramid to transform day to night, from plaza to pinnacle. Jury Comment: The lighting is understated and not overdone, and the pedestrian experience is warm and inviting.

Lighting Design for a Cultural Institution: Al-Mujadilah – Center and Mosque for Women, Buro Happold

Credit: © Iwan Baan

In Islam, light is a metaphor for spiritual guidance and righteousness. Close to 6,000 conical skylight perforations diffuse daylight into the main prayer hall of the first purpose-built contemporary women’s mosque in the Muslimworld. As daylight fades, white luminaires integrated bring the same ambiance into night. Jury comment: The use of  daylight is profound and overlaps with artificial light perfectly.

Exterior Lighting Design: Princeton University Geo-Exchange Plants and Garage, Fisher Marantz Stone

Credit: Todd Mason/Halkin Mason Photography

As part of the University’s Net-Zero program, the garage’s undulating, mesh-façade is lit by concealed uplights, creating a reversal of daytime lights and shadows. The glowing stair-tower and uplit canopy enhance the garage’s visual appeal while minimizing light pollution, while interior integrated lines of light serve as cues for public circulation. Jury comment: They achieved sustainability through intelligent lighting design closely integrated into architecture and materiality of the project.

Retail Lighting Design: Printemps New York, L'Observatoire International

Credit: Peter Dressel for Printemps New York

The lighting design of the store accentuates the store's fusion of contemporary Parisian aesthetics and restored Art Deco features, mostnotably in the landmarked Red Room. It not only respects the building's architectural legacy but also introduces a modern  arrative, creating a cohesive and immersive shopping experience that bridges past and present. Jury comment: The mixology of lighting solutions in the various spaces is amazing.

Residential Lighting Design: A Whimsical Landscape Glows from Within, Source Light Design

Credit: Jesse Coletta

A lush ecosystem transforms into an intimate nighttime experience where wildness meets curated light. Small-scale fixtures softly illuminate pathways and trees, while campfire-inspired fixtures glow to highlight key waypoints. Fixtures softly illuminate vertical elements, letting native plants envelop the viewer. Jury comment: This is a poetic project, and we appreciated the restraint and respect for the natural environment.

Hospitality Lighting Design: Café Carmellini, Focus Lighting

Credit: Ryan Fischer

The glamour of the gilded age, the lighting design seeks to achieve the feeling of grandeur of the classic New York dining experience. Workingclosely with fabricators, elaborate decorative fixtures are the main players in the space, and are supported by myriad layers of carefully composed architectural lighting. Jury comment: Excellent reimagination of classic art deco; there is great depth and variety creating lighting drama.

Lighting Design for a New York Project: Black Rock, Lighting Workshop

Credit: Colin Miller

Black Rock, the only skyscraper designed by Eero Saarinen, underwent a redesign to modernize the building, yet maintains the architect’s aesthetic. The landmarked building, also known as 51West52, with its famed monolithic façade, now has renovated lobbies, concourse, and amenity suites. Jury comment: Light and architecture are equals. They are in sync and reinforce each other.

Lighting Design for an Experiential Project: Los Circulos, Marvel

Credit: Cameron Blaylock

This site-specific installation is inspired by communal celebration in the public square, a cultural tradition deeply embedded in the neighborhood’sLatin American diaspora. Soft illumination from undulating circles transforms two public spaces, creating an inviting space for interaction while increasing nighttime visibility. Jury comment: This is a fun, joyful installation that defines the space through light.

Special Citation for Social and Ecological Sustainability: Maasser El Shouf, Light Reach Network and Light for Lebanon (an initiative of Phoscope)

Credit: Courtesy Light for Lebanon

This historic, rural village has long lived in dire light poverty. It now has a solar-powered outdoor lighting design scheme that facilitates kids' play and cultural festivities after dark. It will also boost the local economy by expanding tourism beyond daytime. Jury comment: We felt this worthy project warranted a citation for its outstanding work.

Architectural Product Design: Tria System, Filix Lighting

Credit: Vedran Maric

This system allows lighting fixtures, sensors, and branding elements to be placed and adjusted on pathways to urban boulevards, giving light designers a future-proof alternative to traditional poles. Available in three sizes, the product is easy to install and marine-grade coated anodized aluminum ensures long-term durability. Jury comment: This one pole is multi-useful, ensures sustainability, and is timelessly modern.

Decorative Product Design: Polina, Focal Point

Credit: Courtesy Focal Point

Available in two sizes as a pendant or wall sconce, this product combines high-performance acoustic control with architectural-grade illumination. It also offers unlit acoustic companions for design flexibility in workplaces, hospitality, and education. Jury comment: Nice integration of acoustics and lighting that allows for flexible design configuration.

2025 ICON Awards

Charles Stone, Jules Fisher, Paul Marantz (left to right).

2025 ICON Awards were presented to Jules Fisher, Paul Marantz (posthumously), and Charles Stone, the co-founders of Fisher MarantzStone, who built and led the company since its founding in 1971. Over the years, FMS has made significant contributions to the built environment and the practice of lighting design both here in New York and worldwide. The ICON Award is reserved for a special individual, firm, or company worthy of veneration for their commitment to advancing the impact of lighting within the New York design community.

“These three industry giants were selected by the Beacon Awards Committee and approved by the DLFNY Board because they embody what it means to be a beacon and an icon to their employees, clients, collaborators, and future generations of lighting designers,” says Pavarini.

“Unique among the professional recognitions and awards received by FMS and our Founders since1971, the DLFNY's Second Annual ICON Award is especially meaningful. This award honors a legacy shaped by many hands and connects our past with the present, and our future, ” says Jules Fisher, founder, Charles G Stone II, founder, and FMS President Paula Martinez-Nobles, in a joint statement. Fisher and Nobles accepted the award on behalf of all of the founders.

All proceeds from the Beacon Awards, presented by DLFNY, are used to fund the Lana Lenar Lighting Empowerment Scholarship to foster the next generation of lighting designers.

The Beacon Awards Committee thanks the members of our esteemed jury – Kana Ahn/CetraRuddy (interior designer), Chris Cooper/SOM (architect), Erin Dreyfous/Studio DXD lighting designer), Ellen Fisher, PhD/NYSID (interior designer), Mary Ann Hoag/Mary Ann Hoag Lighting Design (lighting designer), Jackson Ning/Kugler Ning (lighting designer), Eileen Pierce/Pierce Lighting Studio (lighting designer) - for donating their time and expertise.

The Beacon Awards Committee thanks our 2025 sponsors for their support – Diamond - SDA Lighting & Controls; Platinum - Peerless, Lumenwerx, Mark Architectural Lighting, ELA + Synergy; Gold - Anolis, SLS, Current, Barbican Lighting, Axis, Diversified, USAI Lighting, Ecosense; Silver -Coronet, Dark No More; Bronze - The Dulanski Group, Scout, Lutron, Hafele. Media – designing lighting. In kind – FLOS.

For more information about the winning projects and categories visit https://awards.dlfny.org/ 

About the DLFNY Lenar Lighting Empowerment Scholarship:
The DLFNY Lenar Lighting Empowerment Scholarship provides financial support to students enrolled full-time in university-level lighting programs. Students enrolled at the following schools are currently eligible: Parsons School of Design and the New York School of Interior Design. Individual awardees, numbers of awardees, and scholarship amounts will be determined by the schools’ lighting program directors. Interested students may contact them.

About the DLFNY:
The Designers Lighting Forum of New York (DLFNY) is an organization dedicated to exploring the power of light in design and the latest in lighting innovation and education. The DLFNY supports formal lighting education through scholarships and contributions to local universities and design schools, as well as national programs. Founded in 1934 and continuously led by a volunteer Board of Managers, we are supported by the DLFNY general membership, the generosity of its corporate sponsors, and financial proceeds from LEDucation. The DLFNY enthusiastically provides designers, architects, manufacturers and their representatives, contractors, educators, and students with opportunities to network and experience the wonder of lighting in New York City and beyond. Visit dlfny.org 

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