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L'Observatoire International

L'Observatoire International is an award winning lighting design firm.

L’Observatoire, founded in 1993 by Herve Descottes, is a team of lighting designers and architects with expertise in various typologies.

08/08/2026

The Ace Hotel Brooklyn combines an atmosphere that is both raw and welcoming. L’Observatoire International’s lighting design enhances the building’s honest materiality: concrete, timber, and handcrafted details while bringing warmth, depth, and rhythm to every space. From the soaring lobby to the guest rooms. Layered illumination creates places to gather, work, and unwind, reflecting the creative energy and understated character of Brooklyn.

Architect of Record: Stonehill Taylor Interior & Façade Design: Roman and Williams Client: CFI Capital Resources Group
Lighting Design: L’Observatoire International Team: Hervé Descottes, Mint Kamolnadda Thumrongluck, Artemis Papadatou Photos: Stephen Kent Johnson / OTTO

06/08/2026

Looking back at some of the remarkable projects we created alongside the design duo Roman and Williams. From large scale institutional projects such as British Galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to shaping intimate dining experiences at Le Coucou in New York or Locanda Verde at Hudson Yards. Together, we have brought light to iconic destinations such as The Standard High Line and its legendary Boom Boom Room with its warm glow recognizable from the streets below.

Our collaborations extended far beyond New York, with projects including Estelle Manor in the English countryside, Replay The Stage in Milan, and Bardot in Istanbul (among many more). With a shared philosophy to create quiet moments rather than spectacle. Where light reveals the richness of materials, celebrating craftsmanship and to share an intimate atmosphere that never overwhelms but that embraces the idea that less is more. Lighting shall always serve comfort and invite discovery.

31/07/2026

Research | Light and space art is an artistic movement that emerged in the 1960s focusing on light, perception, and the interplay of art with architectural and environmental contexts. Artists in this movement create installations and environments that manipulate light, color, and spatial elements to create immersive experiences for viewers. Light and space art blurs the boundaries between art, architecture, and the viewer, often inviting contemplation of one’s sensory perceptions and the interaction between light and surroundings.

Slide 5-6: Aoyama Treehouse, Tokyo | Lighting Design by Hervé Descottes

29/07/2026

Mathilde Rouiller, artist and researcher, has collaborated with L’Observatoire International for almost 10 years, helping shape the artistic direction behind new lighting concepts and long-term research projects. Her work reflects our belief that lighting design extends far beyond illuminating spaces. It is informed by political philosophy, ecology, performance, movement anthropology, and the visual arts, creating environments that engage both emotionally and intellectually.
Mathilde’s first project for L’Observatoire International was a staging of the opening ceremony of the redevelopment of several bridges in the New York area. As a newly graduated stage director and scenographer, she then created an overall concept with lighting. Today one of her main focuses is to incorporate ecological solutions with the awareness of climate change and structure issues that shift our cognitive vision. This leads to the key intentions of preservation and restoration as a main topic of her recent guest lecture at Bologna University.

Horizon over sunset over the Mediterranean © Mathilde Rouiller, 2025

Conceptual sketch — light, warmth and wind for L’Observatoire International © Mathilde Rouiller, 2025

Conceptual sketch — light, sand and movement for L’Observatoire International © Mathilde Rouiller, 2025

Missolonghi, winter light and salt marshes © Mathilde Rouiller, 2023

Score of light for L’Observatoire International © Mathilde Rouiller, 2024

Interspecies Votive, Print on metal © Mathilde Rouiller, 2023

Interspecies Votive, Print on metal © Mathilde Rouiller, 2023

27/07/2026

At Fouquet’s Courchevel, lighting shapes every arrival and every moment in between. The lighting for the feature staircase and circulation spaces, music lounge, guest amenities, and hair salon, creates a seamless journey through the hotel. Layered light enhances the richness of the interiors, balancing intimacy and sophistication while reflecting the timeless elegance of the Fouquet’s experience in the French Alps.
 Interior Architect: Corinne Sachot / CSAI Client: Fouquet’s Courchevel Hôtel Barrière
Lighting Design: L’Observatoire International
Principal: Hervé Descottes, Leah Xandora, Ke Shi, Damien Pipier
 Photos: Matthieu Salvaing  

24/07/2026

From architecture to sculpture, Frank Gehry’s work has always blurred the boundaries between art, form, and light. His exhibitions reveal the same fascination with movement that defines his buildings. Static objects appear alive through shifting light, texture, and reflection. In ‘Spinning Tales’, Gehry’s iconic Fish Lamps become luminous sculptures, suspended as if swimming through space, while the immersive installation ‘Wishful Thinking’ transforms light into the emotional heart of the experience. Across his artistic practice, illumination is never an afterthought but an immediate component shaping perception, depth, and motion.

20/07/2026

Architecture in motion. Light in dialogue | Frank Gehry has redefined contemporary architecture through sculptural forms that challenge convention and transform the way we experience space. His buildings are never static. They shift with perspective, reflect their surroundings, and come alive through the changing qualities of natural and artificial light. For Gehry, light is not simply an element that illuminates architecture but an essential design partner that reveals form, materiality, movement, and emotion.

For decades, L’Observatoire International has collaborated closely with the architect. From the sweeping curves of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA to the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris and Seoul, Gehry’s Residence in Los Angeles, 8 Spruce Street in Downtown Manhattan, and the cultural landmark of LUMA Arles. Each project demonstrates how architecture and light become inseparable.

16/07/2026

The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building stands as the central showpiece in the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. The curves of the architecture, designed to catch and celebrate the bright daylight, are accentuated through lighting. Its glass facade offers a muted backdrop for the lush green oak trees on the museum grounds during the day and softly glows like a lantern at night.

The lighting concept was carefully curated to not overpower this cultural district with its large scale. The lighting was designed to position the building in the context of the city while shaping an intimate pedestrian experience for visitors.

Architect: Steven Holl
Associate Architect: Kendall/Heaton Associates
Client: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Lighting Design: L’Observatoire Intl
Team: Hervé Descottes, Wei Jien, Wen Y. Lin, Thomas Mnich, Oliver Huan, Nicolas Duflis, Natalia Priwin, Glenn Fujimura

14/07/2026

The lighting system, positioned on a grid of two meters, integrates precisely with the architect’s vision, adapts to the rhythm of the façade, and has required the development of very flexible lighting solutions. Integrated to the acoustic ceilings, the fixtures have been designed to be as discreet as possible. While these minimalist, fixed ceilings create an almost invisible, graphically integrated light recalling the transparency of shop windows and the commercial identity of the Louvre–Saint-Honoré district, the design of the mobile ceilings emphasizes their visibility. Mounted on adjustable rods, visible and integrated into the platform grid, they can adapt to a range of scenarios.

Architect: Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Lighting Design: L’Observatoire Intl
Team: Hervé Descottes, Solenne Borchers, Martina Durcekova, Egle Kucaite, Capucine Léonard, Vincent Chaigne

10/07/2026

From the theatrical glamour of the hotel to the quiet rituals of restoration below, the lighting design for Tierra Santa Healing House at Faena New York extends the narrative that has defined L’Observatoire International’s longstanding collaboration with the Faena Group.

While the hotel unfolds through dramatic compositions, intimate lounges, and cinematic moments of discovery, the spa offers a natural continuation where light softens, slows, and becomes an instrument of wellbeing. Warm, layered illumination guides visitors through spaces dedicated to ritual and renewal, creating an atmosphere that is deeply contemplative.

Lighting Design: L’Observatoire International
Team: Hervé Descottes, Carlos Garcia, Esteban Varas, Jacinda Ross, Diksha Wahi

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