PHT Lighting Design

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PHT Lighting Design

PHT Lighting Design strives to craft creative and innovative illumination for architectural and urban environment.

11/03/2026

Hands down, the most rewarding part of teaching is seeing your students out in the professional world making moves and thriving! Catching up with everyone at the annual alumni party was such a blast.
Huge thanks to Shaun Fillion, Program Director of the Master in Professional Studies in Lighting Design, for bringing us all together, and to Visual Comfort for opening up their Soho showroom to host us!

10/27/2026

Children deserve a happy place to eat lunch. The basement cafeteria at Friends Seminary in NYC didn't start that way.

The space presented every challenge a basement can offer: no daylight, an uneven ceiling only 6'8" to 7'9" high, and an open kitchen requiring dropped soffits to conceal exhaust ducts and sprinklers. The architect sloped the entire ceiling to create one uninterrupted surface — and our lighting had to follow that slope precisely, with linear downlights spaced so their angles match the incline without fixtures colliding. The geometry of the ceiling became the geometry of the light.

To prevent diners from looking directly into downlights at such close range, we designed a custom perforated baffle — shielding the source while preserving the clean, even illumination the space needed. Where the ceiling is too low for downlights, we installed linear wall scones in a similar pattern. The stainless steel pendants over the serving counters are camouflaged in the kitchen equipment, but their glow draws the eye toward the action.

Colored floor tiles in the same shape as the ceiling fixtures and placed roughly below them, and together with the offset, rectangular dish cubbies in the kitchen, echo the rhythm of the linear lights. Glowing lines above, colored lines below — a quiet visual game that children notice before adults do.

This lighting won an IES lumen Award Citation.

Architect: jtinmouth
Photography: Peiheng Tsai

10/19/2026

For leading digital menswear brand Mack Weldon’s first retail store in the luxury Hudson Yards mall in Manhattan, lighting balances comfort with a sharp, modern edge.

A centerpiece resin sculpture by NYC artist Taylor Allen —referencing pre-digital model kits—is softly uplit to glow from within and creates an immediate focal point, drawing you into the compact storefront within the larger mall. Layered timber frames add depth and reinforce the brand’s association with high quality materials.

Linear fixtures provide clean, even ambient light throughout the space. In contrast, spotlights are tightly controlled—limited to just four precise rows—to highlight perimeter displays and key merchandise without the clutter of typical retail track systems.

Architect:
Artist: Taylor Allen
Photography:

09/29/2026

Casa Hope’s textural brick facade oscillates in facets that catch light differently at every angle — ’s sculptural nod to the rhythm of Williamsburg's historic rowhouse streets, rendered in contemporary form.

Grazing light along the building's sides lifts the brick mass off of the ground, dissolving the boundary between structure and street. Where the facade cuts away at the corner, light frames the opening — offering passersby a glimpse into the lobby and shared spaces within, an invitation rendered in glow rather than signage..

A balance of subtlety and emphasis—allowing the architecture to read clearly after dark while staying connected to the scale and texture of the neighborhood.

Architect:
Photographer:

09/21/2026

The Martha Graham Dance Company — the oldest dance troupe in America — has spent decades as what the NYT describes as "vagabonds," rehearsing in ballrooms, salsa studios, wherever space could be found. This week in their centennial year, they cut the ribbon on 21,000 square feet of their own on the 11th floor of the Paramount Building in Times Square.

We were proud to design the lighting for this extraordinary space. MBB Architects stripped away false floors and uncovered hidden skylights — revealing a gem that had been buried under a rabbit warren of low-ceilinged offices. Our lighting honors that openness: bright, clean studio light that serves the dancers first, with one studio designed to transform into a full performance space with theatrical lighting capability.

"There is nothing more important to dancers than space," said artistic director Janet Eilber. We'd add: and nothing more important to a space than light.

Congratulations to the Martha Graham Dance Company on this milestone. As the New York Times covered last week, this is more than a new address — it's a testament to a legacy that has shaped how the world understands movement.

Architect and Photography: mbbarchitects

www.nytimes.com/2026/09/13/realestate/martha-graham-dance-performance-space.html

09/15/2026

Trevor Day School — Upper West Side, NYC

The brief: transform this plain white box with exposed ceiling grid into an elegant space that transitions seamlessly from daily gym classes to high-end community event rentals.

Direct-indirect lighting integrates with the architect’s felt ceiling system to create a comfortable, acoustically tuned environment. The theatrical rigging is now concealed within the ceiling, dropping down only when needed for special events.

A flexible lighting solution designed to support both everyday school life and after-hours gatherings, just in time for the new school year.

Architect: .nyc
Photos by PHT Lighting

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08/31/2026

We had the pleasure of joining two leading design firm executives for an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the science and manufacturing of LED lighting at Ketra headquarters.
Huge thanks to the team at Lutron Electronics for their incredible hospitality—seeing their innovation and precision up close was nothing short of inspiring! 💡✨

08/18/2026

The two buildings at 169 and 181 Henry Street have lived many lives—from ice cream production and scientific glassware manufacturing, to warehouse and shipping. Today, they form NXTHVN: a 40,000SF hub for artist studios, exhibitions, coworking spaces and community programming.

The lighting approach was to support this transformation without erasing the past. Suspended linear fixtures reference the fluorescent tubes once used in the buildings’ industrial years—but are now energy-efficient LEDs, delivering soft, even ambient light suited for creative work. The industrial language remains, while the experience is entirely redefined. In the exhibition spaces, a flexible track lighting system allows for a wide range of artwork and curatorial setups.

Architect: tenberke_architects
Photographer: chriscooperphotographer

08/04/2026

What do all dental patients stare at? ...The ceiling!

Instead of a typical 2x2 grid ceiling, this dental office features a custom organic screen—designed by the dentist’s husband, an industrial designer—to create something engaging to look up at. Concealed uplights in the cavity above the screen wash the concrete slab, hiding ducts and infrastructure while casting the screen’s pattern as shadow against a soft glow.

The uplighting is tuned with a subtle purple hue—cool and calming, but warm enough to play nicely with the bold red dots dancing across the dividers. Below, crisp white downlights precisely illuminate sinks and workstations for clarity and function, while admin areas remain clean and neutral.

A layered approach—turning a typically overlooked surface into the focal point. ✨🦷

Architect: H2M Architects
Photographer: paul_warchol

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07/21/2026

Rising thirty stories above Manhattan, The Dylan was designed as an intimate retreat — only six homes per floor, a sanctuary above the noise. Our lighting carries that intention through every amenity space.

It begins at the entrance, where walls grazed with soft light create a tunnel effect — drawing you in, orienting you, slowing you down before the lobby opens up. There, a skylight offers an unexpected upward view of the full height of the tower, and a 13' high floor-to-ceiling vertical cove reads like a window, further opening the enclosed space. The effect is dramatic and calm at once — a deliberate pause before the elevator zone takes you home.

The gym shifts register entirely. Brighter, more energetic illumination signals the change in purpose. The basketball court is evenly lit for performance, with fixtures encased in industrial-style boxes, protecting the lights from errant three-pointers.

Then the sky deck: warm, unhurried light for grilling and lounging, the Empire State Building presiding above.

Architect:
Photographer

Address

480 Central Park West
New York, NY
10025

Website

https://www.phtlighting.com/

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