The latest edition of “Architizer: The World’s Best Architecture” — a stunning, hardbound book celebrating the most inspiring contemporary architecture from around the globe — is now available. Order your copy today.
When it was renamed in 1904, Times Square was hardly the neon playground it is today. Back then, it was rough, dim and infamous for its less-than-savory nightlife. Yet within a couple of decades, electric signs were sprawled across the façades, turning the once unremarkable intersection into a spectacle of light that was bright, brash and impossible to miss. By the mid-1920s, publicity around the glowing billboards and marquee lights had captured global attention, making the area synonymous with nocturnal showmanship and forever changing how we experience cities after dark.
Of course, not every neighborhood is looking for the visual overload of Times Square, but over the last century, light has become one of the key tools in the arsenal of architects and designers. Designing for darkness is often about positioning light in a way that highlights key elements, increases awareness or provides a sense of safety. Certain projects favor a directed spotlight whose glow complements carved heritage masonry, whereas others choose vivid digital screens where video and graphical elements can shine.
In all cases, lighting does more than reveal form and material. It can manipulate scale, guide movement and influence atmosphere. A narrow alley becomes a calmer, clearer and more approachable corridor when punctuated by low-level fixtures, and a vast restaurant feels smaller, warmer and more intimate when secondary lighting is precisely positioned.
The following projects run the full spectrum: from bold, high-impact façades to restrained, methodically lit landmarks. Together, they prove that once the sun sets, architecture need not vanish into anonymity. And sometimes, as Times Square first taught us, light can be the making of entire destinations.
Perelman Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center
By REX, New York City, New York
Photos by Iwan Baan
At the Perelman Performing Arts Center, lighting is the defining element of its identity after dark. By day, the Portuguese marble façade is a solid volume, carefully book-matched to emphasize the beautiful veining. By night, backlighting turns the stone into a semi-translucent surface, allowing the grid of panels to read more like a textured skin. The effect is perfectly calibrated, bright enough to be a presence in Lower Manhattan but never so excessive that it overpowers the material’s natural depth. Inside, warm, recessed lighting ensures that even the circulation spaces feel deliberate. There is no unnecessary spectacle, just a precise execution of material and light working in tandem.
The Schwarzman Center Renovation at Yale University
By L’Observatoire International, New Haven, Connecticut
Popular Choice Winner, Architecture +Light, 12th Annual A+Awards
Photos by Francis Dzikowski/Otto
Lighting experts, L’Observatoire International’s lighting design restores the Schwarzman Center’s Beaux-Arts grandeur while adapting it for contemporary student life. Externally, the limestone façade is treated with a subtle, controlled glow, ensuring presence without artificial overstatement. Inside, a layered approach allows the grand Commons dining hall, President’s Room, and Dome Room to be appreciated to the fullest. Memorial Hall and circulation spaces take a gallery-like approach, using light to accentuate architectural details without overpowering them. Below ground, where daylight is absent, a programmable lighting system adjusts temperature and intensity to create a dynamic sense of time, ensuring the Bistro and Grotto spaces remain adaptable rather than static.
Hotel W Osaka
By concrete, Osaka, Japan
Few hotels embrace lighting as aggressively as W Osaka, but then again, few cities offer a more fitting backdrop. From the moment guests step through the color-shifting entrance tunnel, lighting is used not as a supplement but as the primary decorative tool. The acrylic-paneled lobby is a nod to Osaka’s neon aesthetic, stripping out the visual noise but keeping the electric energy. Creative lighting design is everywhere you turn. In the WET Deck and bar, LEDs are fully integrated into walls and ceilings, transitioning from deep blues to vibrant pinks and violets and even the pool is a bold expression of lighting. In the guest rooms, the approach is more restrained but equally as well considered.
COQODAQ
By Rockwell Group, New York City, New York
Photos by Jason Varney
At COQODAQ, lighting is as precisely engineered as the menu. The series of illuminated arches that define the dining space create a sense of rhythm without overpowering the elegant material palette. Below, low-level lighting defines booths while maintaining a feeling of privacy, while backlit lacquered paneling enhances the depth of surfaces without overexposing them. Rockwell Group avoids the typical pitfall of overproduced hospitality lighting and nothing here is theatrical for the sake of it. The restrooms follow the same methodology, with backlit oval mirrors that extend endlessly into black walls. Providing enough functional light yet not deviating from the refined look.
YOFC Headquarters
By Gensler, Wuhan, China
Photos by RAWVISION studio
As the world’s largest optical fiber manufacturer, YOFC’s headquarters needed to function as both a corporate flagship and a brand statement. Gensler’s smart façade system does both, using motorized louvers to adjust transparency, glare control, and heat reduction throughout the day. At night, the strategy shifts — the curved façade panels are backlit, emphasizing the sweeping motion of the building’s five-winged form. This is not branding through signage but through architecture itself, with the lighting reinforcing the company’s identity as an innovator in connectivity.
Harbin Creative Design Center
By FANGFANG STUDIO, Harbin, China
At the Harbin Creative Design Center, lighting is entirely integrated into the architecture. The space is made up of a series of overlapping “D” motifs, stacked and rotated and the lighting strategy follows suit. Recessed ceiling panels mirror the geometric logic of the interior, diffusing illumination and avoiding any harsh focal points. In lower areas, hidden lighting ensures surfaces are highlighted without visible fixtures, maintaining a clean look throughout. At the entrance, LED line lights and hose strips subtly highlight the glass brick archway. The building remains visible without resorting to overexposed façade lighting.
Sphere
By ICRAVE, Las Vegas, Nevada
At Sphere, lighting is not a detail. It is the architecture. Inside and out. It’s bold and innovative, like the building itself. Everywhere is edged in strip light while pin lights, orbs and decorative features add to the layers. The reflective black flooring doubles the lighting effect, extending the perceived depth of the space. Food outlets are designed as self-contained glowing objects, ensuring visibility without introducing visual noise. Even wayfinding is integrated into the lighting. Everything is programmable, adaptable and engineered for immersion.
Grid 2
By Spark Architects, Chicago, Illinois
Jury Winner, Retail, 11th Annual A+Awards
Photos by Fabian Ong
Rather than erasing its past, Grid 2 embraces adaptive reuse with a lighting strategy that transforms instead of replaces. The most significant move is at the corner, where the façade has been turned into an illuminated beacon, combining neon-edged framing, oversized signage and graphical lighting to create a new identity for the aging structure. The social stair combines programmable lighting, reinforcing the role of the outdoor performance space. The result is an example of how lighting can transform an existing building’s function without the need to erase its architectural history.
Chamber Chapel
By Puri Lighting Design, Nanjing, China
Photos by Shengliang Su
Chamber Chapel follows a strict hierarchy of intensity, emphasizing spatial clarity and symbolic presence. The spire is the brightest element, acting as a visual landmark, with carefully positioned 300W floodlights ensuring even coverage while minimizing glare. The entrance and bell tower openings are lit with warm yellow light, creating a sense of depth and visual warmth. The stepped façade is illuminated by concealed linear fixtures, allowing each architectural layer to remain legible without visible light sources. Inside, custom frameless downlights are integrated into the curved walls so that the illumination supports the architecture rather than disrupting it. The reflecting pool remains unlit, relying solely on the building’s own glow to maintain a clear, uninterrupted mirror effect.
The latest edition of “Architizer: The World’s Best Architecture” — a stunning, hardbound book celebrating the most inspiring contemporary architecture from around the globe — is now available. Order your copy today.
