Hervé Descottes is a French lighting designer, business owner and author. He established the lighting design firm
L'Observatoire International in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1993 after eight years of design practice in
Paris, France
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. Descottes personally creates the lighting concepts for all projects designed by
L'Observatoire International, and oversees project development through project completion. He is the author of ''Ultimate Lighting Design'' (teNeues, 2005) and co-authored ''Architectural Lighting, Designing with Light and Space'' (Princeton Architectural Press, 2011) with Cecilia E. Ramos. Mr. Descottes has been recognized numerous times by the lighting design and architectural community. He has received awards from the International Association of Lighting Designers, the Illuminating Engineering Society and the New York City Illuminating Engineering Society, the American Institute of Architects, the American Society of Landscape Architects, D&ADAD, the Municipal Art Society of New York City, and the GE Corporation. In 2008, Descottes was named Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the
French Minister of Culture for his work in lighting design.
A comprehensive list of projects and awards is at the
L'Observatoire International article.
Selected projects
*
National Museum of Qatar
The National Museum of Qatar is a national museum in Doha, Qatar. The current building opened to the public on 28 March 2019, replacing the previous building which opened in 1975. The building was designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel who ...
, Qatar: designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel
*Hudson Yards Masterplan, Towers 10, 15, 30, 35, 50, The Vessel: designed by KPF, DS+R, Heatherwick Studio
*Musée du Louvre Pyramid Renovation: designed by Agence Search
*LVMH Global Concepts (Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Dior, Dior Parfums): for LVMH
*LVMH brand stores, worldwide various architects plus for LVMH
*Facebook Menlo Park: designed by: Gehry Partners
*Metropolitan Museum of Art façade and plaza, NYC: designed by Olin Partnership
*
Aspen Art Museum
Founded in 1979, the Aspen Art Museum (AAM) is a non-collecting contemporary art museum located in Aspen, Colorado, United States. AAM exhibitions include drawings, paintings, sculptures, multimedia installations and electronic media.
Building
...
, Aspen, CO: designed by Shigeru Ban Architects
*Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts expansion, Washington, D.C.: designed by Steven Holl Architects
*Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris: designed by Gehry Partners
*Guggenheim Abu Dhabi: designed by Gehry Partners
*Chanel, Los Angeles, London: designed by Peter Marino Architect
*Van Cleef & Arpels Flagships, Paris, HK, NY Cdesigned by Agence Jouin Manku
*Van Cleef & Arpels Exhibition, Tokyo, NYC, Paris, Shanghai: designed by Agence Jouin Manku
*Lincoln Center Redevelopment, NYC: designed by Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, FX Fowle
*Museum of the Moving Image, NYC: designed by Leeser Architecture
*Cité du Surf et de l’Océan, Biarrtiz: designed by Steven Holl Architects
*The Highline, NYC: designed by Field Operations, DS+R
*The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto: designed by Gehry Partners
*Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA: designed by Rick Mather + SMBW
*Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles: designed by Gehry Partners
*Columbus Circle Redevelopment, NYC: designed by Olin Partnership
*Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul: designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, OMA, Mario Botta
Lectures
*Friends of ESDA of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA 2019
*Hervé Descottes in Conversation with Cindy Allen, Interior Design Innovation, New York, USA 2019
*Belysnings, Stockholm, Sweden 2018
*Designing with Light, Chicago Architecture Biennal Symposium, Chicago, USA 2017
*Columbia CORE I Series, New York, USA 2016
*Foro Lighting en Site IES, Mexico 2015
*University Penn Design, Philadelphia, PA, USA 2015
*Using Light as Infrastructure, Chester City UK 2014
*Ubuntu: Design Symposium, Sangmyung University, Seoul, Korea 2011
*OHNY, Friends of the High Line, New York, USA 2010
*Light and Theater, New York, NY, USA 2008
*Art, Architecture and Light, Athens, Greece, 2008
*Making Light, IES Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico, 2008
*Evocative Luminance, IES NY, New York, USA 2007
*Rediscovering Columbus, New York, USA 2007
*UW School of Architecture, University of Waterloo, Canada, 2006
*Cooper Union School of Architecture, New York, USA 2006
*Lighting Design Talk, Cedar Lake Theater, New York, USA 2006
*Center of Mediterranean Architecture, Chania Crete, Greece, 2004
*Hommages a James Turrell, Institute Franco-Portugais, Lisbon, 2003
Bibliography
* ''Ultimate Lighting Design'' (teNeues, 2005)
* ''Architectural Lighting, Designing with Light and Space'' co-authored with Cecilia E. Ramos (Princeton Architectural Press, 2011)
External links
L'Observatoire International website
December 2011 interviewNew York Daily News article about Descottes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Descottes, Herve
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
French designers
Lighting designers
Architectural lighting design