What Dot Dash | Architectural Lighting Design does

Dot Dash is an architectural lighting design consultancy founded in 2014, operating from offices in New York (160 Broadway Suite 1215) and San Francisco (22 Battery St Suite 222) with a team of approximately 15 professionals. The firm provides a single integrated service offering, architectural lighting design, that is decomposed into five capability modules: daylighting design, lighting control systems, systems integration with building management, LEED Certification support, and end-to-end construction administration. Its methodology begins with a study of the architectural design, materials, constraints, and programmatic requirements before translating those into lighting solutions intended to reveal form, material, and texture and to augment the human experience of the built environment.

Dot Dash serves a B2B client base organized into five demand segments. The primary channel is architecture firms and developers — OMA, KPMB, Gensler, Rockwell Group, Adjaye Associates, Bjarke Ingels Group, Leong Leong, Deborah Berke Partners, Space4Architecture, Vincent Bandy Architect, Partners & Spade, Isay Weinfeld, and Herzog & de Meuron, among others — who engage the firm on a project basis. End-clients include luxury retail and fashion brands (Glossier across Soho, Miami, London, Seattle, and LA; Gucci Wooster and Miami; David Yurman; Sonos; Allbirds; Maharishi), cultural institutions (New Museum, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Museum of Ice Cream, the Manus x Machina exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art), hospitality (Le Pavillon, Post Houston, Four Seasons Lake Austin, Le Lapin Macao, Georgie by Curtis Stone), corporate and healthcare (1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, Emblem Health, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP), and residential work. Project delivery spans the United States (NYC, Boston, Houston, Austin, Philadelphia, Miami, Seattle, LA, SF, Dallas, DC, Chicago, East Hampton, Greenwich, Detroit) and international locations including Canada, the UK, Macao, Shanghai, Pyeongchang, and Japan.

The firm operates a private, founder/partner-led business model with custom quote-based project pricing that is not publicly disclosed; there is no external funding, no parent company, and no subsidiaries on record. Pricing is set per engagement rather than via standardized rates, and revenue is not disclosed. Distribution is direct engagement with architecture firms and brand owners, supported by a portfolio-led website (dotdash.me), industry press coverage, and architect-network referrals. The firm has earned industry recognition including a 2023 LIT Award in Innovation / R&D, 2023 and 2016 IES NYC Lumen Awards, and a 2017 FLOS Studios feature, all of which reinforce its positioning within the prestige architectural lighting segment.

Name

Dot Dash | Architectural Lighting Design

Legal name

Dot Dash

Website

https://dotdash.me

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Dot Dash is an architectural lighting design consultancy founded in 2014 with offices in New York and San Francisco. Its 15-person team serves architecture firms, luxury retailers, cultural institutions, hospitality operators, and corporate clients on high-profile projects across North America and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Lighting Design Services

NAICS

Interior Design Services (541410)

akta.pro primary industry

Lighting Design Services (BPAHAKAJ)

Keywords

• Architectural lighting design
• Daylighting design
• Lighting control systems
• LEED certification consulting
• Construction administration services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York, NY

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Dot Dash is an architectural lighting design consultancy that develops lighting design solutions to reveal form, material, and texture in built environments. The firm delivers end-to-end lighting design services — including daylighting, lighting control systems, systems integration, LEED Certification support, and construction administration — for cultural institutions, retail, hospitality, workplace, residential, mixed-use, and educational projects.

Product overview

Dot Dash is an architectural lighting design studio with offices in New York and San Francisco. The company operates as a single unified service offering focused on architectural lighting design, with expertise spanning daylighting, control systems, systems integration, LEED Certification support, and construction administration. Their portfolio includes projects across cultural institutions, retail spaces, workplaces, hospitality venues, residential projects, mixed-use developments, and educational facilities. Notable clients include Glossier, OMA, KPMB, Gensler, Rockwell Group, and Isay Weinfeld.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architectural Lighting Design Services Comprehensive architectural lighting design consulting for architecture firms, developers, and brand owners. Services reveal form, material, and texture in cultural, retail, hospitality, workplace, residential, mixed-use, and educational projects, with expertise spanning daylighting, lighting control systems, systems integration, LEED Certification support, and construction administration.

Named customers17 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

24 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• KPMB ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing collaboration with KPMB Architects on cultural projects including Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Boston University Center for Computing and Data Sciences, and Arts Commons Transformation
• OMAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrequent collaboration with OMA on major projects including Post Houston, 713 Music Hall, New Museum, 88 Seaport, Manus x Machina exhibition, and Centre Pompidou x Jersey City
• GenslercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership with Gensler on workplace projects including Emblem Health, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Cravath, and multiple confidential corporate projects
• Rockwell GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Blue School educational project in New York City
• Adjaye AssociatescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East headquarters and Four Seasons West Heating Plant project
• Leong LeongcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on ESSX retail project and The Bellslip residential project
• Deborah Berke PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on multiple residential projects including 115 Franklin, 23 Middaugh Townhouse, and Jeffery Lane House
• Space4ArchitecturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Gucci Wooster and Gucci Miami retail projects
• Vincent Bandy ArchitectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership on Herman Miller flagship and showroom projects
• Partners & SpadecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Sonos flagship store and Allbirds retail projects
• PRO (Projects Office)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on multiple Glossier retail projects including Miami, London, Seattle, and LA locations
• Isay WeinfeldcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Le Pavillon restaurant in New York City
• Bjarke Ingels GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Wildflower Film Studios project in New York
• Gabellini Sheppard AssociatescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on David Yurman flagship store lighting design
• Herzog & de MeuroncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Sixth & Blanco mixed-use project in Texas
• Ohlhausen DuBois ArchitectsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on JCDecaux workplace project
• Rafael de Cárdenas, Ltd.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Museum of Ice Cream exhibition project
• Abruzzo Bodziak ArchitectsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Maharishi retail flagship project
• Wilson AssociatesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Le Lapin hospitality project in Macao
• GRT ArchitectsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Georgie restaurant by Curtis Stone in Dallas
• BoNDminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Company Gallery exhibition project
• 2x4minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Galaxy Olympic Pavilion for 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games
• Trahan ArchitectsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on USA Pavilion for Expo 2025 Osaka project
• MarvelminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on The Masters School IEC education project

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• L'Observatoire International: Specialist architectural lighting design studio based in NYC, comparable in size, project type, and high-end retail/cultural portfolio. Directly competes for the same luxury flagship and museum commissions.
• Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design: NYC-based architectural lighting design firm with similar cultural, civic, and commercial portfolio. Oldest comparable specialty lighting design practice in the US.
• Tillotson Design Associates: Independent architectural lighting design firm with a long track record in museums, cultural institutions, and high-end commercial work. Comparable boutique positioning and project profile.
• One Lux Studio: NYC-based independent architectural lighting design firm with similar boutique positioning and comparable client mix of architecture firms, developers, and brand clients.
• Fisher Marantz Stone: Long-established NYC architectural lighting design firm with strong cultural and institutional portfolio. Direct competitor for top-tier museum and civic commissions.
• Focus Lighting: NYC-based architectural lighting design firm with comparable scope across cultural, retail, hospitality, and corporate projects. Direct competitor for the same NYC architecture firms and brand clients Dot Dash serves.
• Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design (LightBox): Independent architectural lighting design firm serving museums, civic, healthcare, and cultural projects in the US. Comparable in scale and design-led positioning.
• AKT Lighting Design (formerly AWA Lighting Designers): NYC-based architectural lighting design firm with similar project mix across commercial, cultural, and residential. Comparable scale and competitive positioning.

Regional players

• Bartenbach: Austrian lighting design and research firm with comparable cultural and architectural project portfolio. Comparable capabilities in daylighting and lighting controls, but primary market is Europe rather than North America.

Broad incumbents

• Arup Lighting: Lighting design practice within global engineering firm Arup, serving the same architectural clients and project types (cultural, commercial, infrastructure) as Dot Dash but with broader multidisciplinary engineering scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dot-dash---lighting-design

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

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 Dot Dash | Architectural Lighting Design