In February 2025, the American Institute of Architects hosted its first-ever AEC Summit, convening voices from across architecture, engineering, and construction to tackle shared challenges such as climate change, equity, and innovation. This sort of collaborative approach is necessary for the AEC industry-at-large to make a collective impact. 

But even in the pursuit of collaboration, one essential discipline was absent from the conversation: lighting design.

This absence casts much of the summit’s conversation about Design-with-a-capital-D in the Dark. Lighting isn’t a finishing touch. It isn’t an accessory. It is part of the architectural fabric of a place. Without thoughtful lighting, the experience of architecture - its form, its emotion, its purpose - can be muted or lost altogether.

As the AIA’s own messaging affirms, architects are collaborators, problem-solvers, and community builders who aim to “strengthen society” and “transform communities.” Those values only hold weight when the full spectrum of design voices is represented. If we’re serious about inclusion and designing for real people in real spaces, then we must include the disciplines that literally shape how space is seen, felt, and understood.

Lighting designers are not a luxury. We are not decorators. We don’t just illuminate architecture.

We interpret it, enhance it, and help it function. We bring artistic vision, technical expertise, and human-centered thinking to the realization of spaces. We’re partners in creating the places that define people’s lives and their wellness. The link between light and physical, psychological, and emotional health is well-documented, yet still too often overlooked in mainstream design dialogue.

This is a call for more conversation. For deeper integration of all design disciplines. Organizations like the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) have long advocated for the recognition of lighting design as a distinct, contributive profession. Their efforts offer a solid foundation for expanding this dialogue, one we hope the AIA and the broader AEC field are ready to build upon.

Because the reality is simple: without light, you cannot see what architects design or what builders build.

I’m stepping forward not just on behalf of our firm, but on behalf of our field. Lighting design deserves meaningful inclusion in how the AEC industry imagines collaboration, defines expertise, and shapes our shared future.

Lighting matters. This is a necessary conversation to have. And now is the time to start having it. 

- Avraham ‘Avi’ Mor, IALD, CLD, LEED AP, April 2025