Lighting Workshop

What Lighting Workshop does

Lighting Workshop is a New York-based architectural lighting design practice founded in 2007 and led by founder and owner Doug Russell, headquartered at 20 Jay Street in Brooklyn with a secondary office in Southampton, NY. The firm provides full-service, bespoke lighting design — from concept studies and renderings through photometric calculations, Revit/AutoCAD documentation, custom fixture design, specifications, submittal reviews, and lighting control system programming — for interior and exterior built environments across workplace, hospitality, luxury retail, cultural/educational, public-sector, and high-end residential project types. Its core technical capabilities center on atmospheric, function-driven illumination, including tunable/programmable LED systems that mimic daylight, DMX-driven kinetic installations, color-temperature-stratified exterior compositions, and multi-layer control systems with pre-set dimming.

The firm serves enterprise clients directly and is also engaged as a specialist lighting consultant by architecture and interior design firms including A+I, Gensler, Marvel Architects, Clive Wilkinson, and Weiss/Manfredi; its named project portfolio spans Aston Martin New York, Rockefeller Center Concourse, Publicis Groupe (Le Truc), Under Armour Headquarters (LEED Platinum, net-zero), 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, Campari North America, Hudson Yards (280,000 SF financial services HQ), Saks Fifth Avenue, Dropbox, Simons Foundation Flatiron Institute, Domino Park, and University of Toronto SRIC. Lighting Workshop monetizes entirely through project-based professional services fees on a quote/scope basis — pricing is not publicly disclosed — with go-to-market executed via direct enterprise sales, architect-of-record partnerships, design competitions, and reputation-driven referrals within the architecture and design community, supported by an extensive website portfolio, active Instagram and LinkedIn presence, and high-recognition industry press (Wallpaper, WWD, Architectural Record, Metropolis, Interior Design, Dezeen, Hospitality Design, The New York Times).

The firm operates as a privately held, founder-owned boutique with 11–50 employees (22 named lighting designers and support staff listed on the website), no external institutional investors, no disclosed funding rounds, and no M&A activity. It sustains a steady award cadence across IESNYC Lumen, IES Illumination, DLFNY Beacon, Society of American Registered Architects, and Interior Design Magazine (Best of Year / NYC X Design), with at least one named recognition per year from 2017 through 2025, which functions as a primary brand and pipeline-generation asset in lieu of paid marketing. The business model implies revenue in the mid-single-digit to low-double-digit millions range based on headcount benchmarks for comparable boutique design consultancies, with the mix concentrated in high-end commercial and hospitality work in the Northeastern US and selective national and Canadian projects.

Name

Lighting Workshop

Legal name

Lighting Workshop

Website

https://ltgworkshop.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lighting Workshop is a Brooklyn-based architectural lighting design consultancy delivering bespoke interior and exterior lighting schemes — including photometric planning, custom fixtures, and lighting control programming — for enterprise clients across workplace, hospitality, luxury retail, cultural, and high-end residential projects, engaged directly or through architect-of-record partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Lighting Design Services

NAICS

Interior Design Services (54141)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Lighting Design Services (BPAHAKAJ)

Keywords

• Architectural lighting design
• Lighting design consulting
• Custom lighting specification
• Lighting control systems
• LEED certified lighting

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Architectural Lighting Design Consulting: The firm provides full-service lighting design services as a consultant to architects and interior designers. Revenue is earned through project-based professional service fees for lighting design from concept through installation and commissioning. Services include concept studies, renderings, millwork lighting details, photometric calculations, specifications, custom fixture design, and site visits.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Lighting Workshop is a full-service architectural lighting design practice that creates atmospheric, function-driven illumination plans for interior and exterior built environments. Engagements span concept studies, renderings, photometric calculations, Revit/AutoCAD documentation, custom fixture design, specifications, energy code compliance, submittal reviews, and lighting control system programming from concept through installation and commissioning. The firm serves architects, interior designers, developers, and corporate end-clients across workplace, hospitality, retail, residential, cultural/educational, and exterior projects.

Product overview

Lighting Workshop is a full-service architectural lighting design practice, not a software product company. Their core offering is professional lighting design services, which they provide through an interactive design process paired with a hands-on studio structure. Their services span lighting concept studies, architectural and millwork lighting details, photometric calculations and simulations, documentation in Revit or AutoCAD, lighting specifications, custom fixture design, budget analysis, energy code compliance calculations, site mock-ups, submittal reviews, and lighting control system programming. They work across various sectors including workplace, hospitality, residential, retail, cultural/education, and exterior lighting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architectural Lighting Design Services Full-service architectural lighting design encompassing concept studies, renderings, photometric calculations, Revit/AutoCAD documentation, lighting specifications, custom fixture design, budget analysis, energy code compliance calculations, site mock-ups, submittal reviews, and lighting control system programming. Delivered to architects, interior designers, developers, and corporate clients across workplace, hospitality, retail, residential, cultural/educational, and exterior projects from concept through installation and commissioning.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1 million annual visitors attracted to Domino Park through effective lighting design
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Hollander Design Landscape ArchitectsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on the Hudson Yards Financial Services Firm exterior terrace project, where Hollander Design provided landscape architecture and Lighting Workshop provided atmospheric exterior terrace lighting integrated into landscape elements.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Arup Lighting: Global engineering consultancy with a dedicated architectural lighting design practice serving the same enterprise, developer, and cultural clients. Larger scale and broader portfolio than Lighting Workshop but overlaps on marquee projects.
• Buro Happold (Lighting): International engineering firm offering architectural lighting design as part of a broader multi-disciplinary practice. Competes for enterprise-scale projects where Lighting Workshop also bids.

Direct peers

• Renfro Design Group: Independent lighting design practice serving commercial, cultural, and institutional clients in the U.S. Comparable boutique profile and project-based professional services model.
• Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design: Established NYC architectural lighting design firm with deep cultural-institution and commercial experience. Similar boutique model and enterprise/developer customer base.
• Tillotson Design Associates: NYC-based lighting design consultancy with a long-running track record in hospitality, museums, and high-end commercial work. Comparable in service offering and target customer set.
• Lighting Design Alliance: Architectural lighting design firm with a similar boutique scale and a comparable mix of commercial, hospitality, and entertainment-sector projects in North America.
• Focus Lighting: NYC-based architectural lighting design firm with comparable footprint, working across hospitality, retail, and residential projects with similar specifier-driven sales motion.
• L'Observatoire International: Independent architectural lighting design firm headquartered in NYC with a comparable boutique scale, specializing in hospitality, retail, and high-end commercial projects. Overlaps directly with Lighting Workshop's marquee-client profile.
• Fisher Marantz Stone: New York-based architectural lighting design practice of similar scale serving workplaces, hospitality, cultural, and public-realm clients. Direct competitor for enterprise and institutional projects in the same NYC specifier ecosystem as Lighting Workshop.
• One Lux Studio: New York architectural lighting design practice focused on commercial, residential, and hospitality environments. Direct peer in scale, geography, and services offered.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lightingworkshop
• Instagraminstagram.com/lightingworkshop

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lighting Workshop