HDR Earns 3 LIT Lighting Design Awards and 5 Honorable Mentions
The LIT Lighting Design Awards take pride in acknowledging the outstanding contributions of some of the industry's most talented professionals.
The winners exemplify an unwavering commitment to advancing the boundaries of design, presenting innovative solutions, and embracing sustainability practices.
Sustainability Learning Lab
Horticulture Lighting Design
The Bellevue University Sustainability Lab blends advanced horticultural technology with a design that showcases the university’s commitment to sustainable innovation. Built for hands-on research, this building features custom horticultural lighting, high-performance glazing and intuitive controls that create a flexible, data-rich environment. Movable, full-spectrum luminaires and real-time feedback systems allow students to fine-tune growing conditions while minimizing energy use. Ribbed, high-transmission glazing supports plant health and gives the structure a soft, luminous campus presence. Prioritizing low energy use, recycled materials and performance transparency, the lab functions as both a high-tech research hub and a living expression of the university’s sustainability ethos.
College of Architecture Phase Two Expansion
LED Interior Lighting Design
The lighting design for the University of Nebraska’s College of Architecture Phase Two Expansion creates a coherent, resilient environment that unifies the historic Architecture Hall with the new mass timber pavilion. Suspended linear LED luminaires deliver even, glare‑free light that highlights the warmth of the structure and supports diverse academic work. Integrated pinup wall lighting, adaptable track systems and a striking two‑story feature wall elevate how students showcase ideas. Guided by a sustainability-focused strategy, the design leverages diffused daylight, daylight harvesting, efficient luminaires and user‑centric controls to reduce energy use and enhance comfort, resulting in a flexible, visually comfortable, energy‑conscious learning space.
Elder Theater Center Renovation
Visitor Experience and Museum Exhibition
The Elder Theatre Renovation transforms a dated venue into an immersive environment where light becomes central to the experience. The redesigned lobby reduces visual clutter by enclosing existing trusses and introducing rhythmic pendants that highlight the ceiling’s geometry. Integrated lighting in acoustic wall panels sets a clean, bright tone leading into the 250‑seat theatre, where a bold custom feature of perforated aluminum panels backlit with RGBW illumination surrounds the audience. Inspired by theatrical audio patterns, this design creates a dynamic, multisensory dialogue. Daylight‑responsive controls, vacancy sensors, efficient luminaires and adaptive reuse reinforce the project’s commitment to sustainability.
Honorable Mentions
The following projects received honorable mentions for their designs.
