Tillotson Design Associates
Tillotson Design Associates is a New York-based architectural lighting design consultancy founded in 2004 by Suzan Tillotson, serving cultural institutions, universities, corporations, and hospitality clients with custom luminaire design, daylighting, and 3D modeling services across more than 15 building typologies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Tillotson Design Associates does
Tillotson Design Associates (TDA) is a private architectural lighting design consultancy founded in 2004 by Suzan Tillotson and headquartered in New York. The firm provides custom luminaire design, daylighting analysis, renovation lighting, renderings, illustrations, and 3D modeling services to clients across cultural, academic, hospitality, corporate, retail, residential, and performing arts sectors. Notable commissions include MoMA, The Shed at Hudson Yards, Lincoln Center, Gateway Arch Museum, Comcast Innovation and Technology Center, Bloomberg European Headquarters, One Vanderbilt, Tiffany & Co Landmark, Four Seasons Restaurant, and the NYPL Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. The firm positions itself on a philosophy of "intentional and purposeful" lighting, with technical specialization in LEED Platinum/Gold-certified sustainable design, complex daylighting studies, tunable white LED systems, museum-grade flexible lighting, and ETFE structure lighting, earning it 25+ awards from IALD, IES, AIA, GE Edison, and Lightfair.
The firm's core offering is professional lighting design services delivered on a project-commission basis, with engagements spanning schematic design through construction administration. It is structured as a specialist consultancy with 11-50 employees, operating without external institutional investment, parent company, or disclosed subsidiaries. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services fees, with pricing determined by project scope, complexity, and scale; no standard pricing is publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales through direct engagement with developers, institutions, and architecture firms, supported by reputation-driven channels including a portfolio website, industry award recognition, and coverage in architecture publications such as Dezeen, Architectural Digest, Architectural Record, and The New York Times.
TDA's operating footprint is global despite its small size, with documented projects across the United States (Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, West Coast, Mountain, Mid-Atlantic), Canada, China, Israel, and Turkey. The firm has built a distribution moat through repeat co-engagement with premier architecture practices including Diller Scofidio + Renfro, OMA, Foster + Partners, SANAA, and Gensler. The firm has no disclosed funding rounds, no M&A activity, and no public listing; ownership remains founder-led and independent.
Tillotson Design Associates firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Tillotson Design Associates
- Legal name
- Tillotson Design Associates
- Website
- https://tillotsondesign.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Tillotson Design Associates is a New York-based architectural lighting design consultancy founded in 2004 by Suzan Tillotson, serving cultural institutions, universities, corporations, and hospitality clients with custom luminaire design, daylighting, and 3D modeling services across more than 15 building typologies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Tillotson Design Associates industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Architectural Lighting Design Services
- NAICS
- Other Specialized Design Services (54149)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering Services (8711)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Lighting Design Services (BPAHAKAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB), Lighting Controls & Building Integration (Drivers, sensors, dimming, lighting control panels, networked lighting) (IMAGAIAI), Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)
Keywords
Where Tillotson Design Associates is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Tillotson Design Associates business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Lighting Design Consulting Services: Professional services revenue generated through providing architectural lighting design consulting for construction and renovation projects. Services include interior and exterior lighting design, daylighting studies, lighting controls specification, and construction administration for high-profile architecture projects.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Tillotson Design Associates product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Tillotson Design Associates is a professional lighting design consultancy that provides architectural lighting design services across diverse building typologies. The firm offers interior and exterior lighting design, daylighting studies, custom luminaire design, lighting controls specification, renderings, illustrations, 3D modeling, and construction administration for high-profile architecture projects spanning museums, academic institutions, hospitality venues, corporate headquarters, performing arts centers, retail, and residential properties.
Product overview
Tillotson Design Associates is a professional lighting design firm offering architectural lighting design services. The firm does not operate a software product business; rather, it provides specialized lighting design consulting services across multiple building typologies. The single core offering is their professional lighting design services, which encompass concept development, design development, technical documentation, and construction administration for lighting systems in architectural projects ranging from museums and corporate headquarters to hospitality venues and residential properties.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Architectural Lighting Design Services Professional architectural lighting design services for diverse building typologies including museums, corporate offices, hospitality venues, libraries, performing arts centers, residential properties, retail spaces, academic institutions, and public realm projects. Provides interior and exterior lighting solutions.
- Daylighting Studies Performance of complex daylighting studies and full-scale mock-ups with design teams to inform light control media required in skylights and facades. Used for projects such as the New Museum of Contemporary Art with expanded metal mesh skin.
- Custom Luminaire Design Design of custom lighting fixtures tailored to specific architectural and aesthetic requirements of individual projects.
- Lighting Controls Specification Specification of lighting controls systems enabling flexible and tunable lighting, including tunable white LED systems and dynamic white dimming for day-to-night color transitions.
- Renderings, Illustrations and 3D Modeling Visualization services including renderings, illustrations, and 3D modeling to communicate and develop lighting design concepts for architectural projects.
- Construction Administration On-site administration and oversight of lighting installation during construction phase of architectural projects, ensuring design intent is properly executed.
- LEED-Certified Sustainable Lighting Design Sustainable lighting design services supporting LEED certification goals, including projects achieving LEED Platinum (Comcast Innovation and Technology Center) and LEED Gold (NYU Paulson Center, Princeton University Art Museum) certifications.
Quantifiable outcome
- Multiple projects achieved LEED Platinum and LEED Gold certifications with lighting design contributing to sustainability goals
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Tillotson Design Associates
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Tillotson Design Associates technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Tillotson Design Associates partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Tillotson Design Associates competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Arup Lighting Design: Engineering firm with a specialist architectural lighting group serving museums, infrastructure, and commercial clients worldwide. Overlaps with TDA on large cultural and urban projects but operates as a multi-disciplinary incumbent.
- Buro Happold Lighting: Global engineering consultancy with a dedicated architectural lighting design practice. Competes on cultural and large-scale commercial projects, but lighting sits inside a much broader MEP/engineering portfolio rather than as a pure-play specialty.
Direct peers
- Available Light: Architectural lighting design firm with a strong portfolio in museums, performing arts, and cultural institutions. Direct peer in the boutique specialty-consultant segment.
- L'Observatoire International: New York-based architectural lighting design consultancy working with cultural, hospitality, retail, and corporate clients globally. Directly competes with Tillotson in the same project categories and architect network (Diller Scofidio + Renfro, OMA).
- George Sexton Associates: Washington, DC-based architectural lighting design practice with a museum and cultural-institution focus. Comparable in scale and project typology, frequently cited in the same award categories as TDA.
- One Lux Studio: New York-based lighting design firm specializing in architectural and daylighting design for cultural, commercial, and institutional projects. Direct peer competing for the same New York architect network.
- Lighting Design Alliance: Multi-office architectural lighting design firm with comparable museum, commercial, and exterior-illumination practice. Peer in the same professional-services niche with overlapping client base.
- Focus Lighting: New York architectural lighting design firm serving cultural, hospitality, retail, and residential markets. Competes head-to-head for the same architect-specified projects and award recognition.
- Fisher Marantz Stone: Long-established New York architectural lighting design firm with comparable museum, civic, and cultural-institution portfolio. Direct competitor for premier architect-specified commissions and award-recognition categories.
- Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design: Architectural lighting design consultancy with similar focus on museums, academic, and cultural projects. Competes for the same architect-driven commissions and frequently appears alongside TDA in IES and IALD award lists.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Tillotson Design Associates social profiles
Digital presenceTillotson Design Associates financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Tillotson Design Associates leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Tillotson Design Associates funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Tillotson Design Associates M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Tillotson Design Associates
What does Tillotson Design Associates do?
Tillotson Design Associates is a professional lighting design consultancy that provides architectural lighting design services across diverse building typologies. The firm offers interior and exterior lighting design, daylighting studies, custom luminaire design, lighting controls specification, renderings, illustrations, 3D modeling, and construction administration for high-profile architecture projects spanning museums, academic institutions, hospitality venues, corporate headquarters, performing arts centers, retail, and residential properties.
Is Tillotson Design Associates a public or private company?
Tillotson Design Associates is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Tillotson Design Associates founded?
Tillotson Design Associates was founded in 2004. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Tillotson Design Associates based?
Tillotson Design Associates is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Tillotson Design Associates make money?
One revenue line is on record: lighting Design Consulting Services.
Who are Tillotson Design Associates's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Arup Lighting Design and Buro Happold Lighting. Direct peers are Available Light, L'Observatoire International, George Sexton Associates, One Lux Studio, Lighting Design Alliance, Focus Lighting, Fisher Marantz Stone and Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design.
Does Tillotson Design Associates have an API?
No public API is recorded for Tillotson Design Associates.
What industry is Tillotson Design Associates in?
Tillotson Design Associates's product category is Architectural Lighting Design Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAJ, Lighting Design Services, with a secondary code of BPAHAKAB, Interior Design Services. Its NAICS code is 54149 and its SIC code is 8711.