8% of award-winning projects had a lighting designer. Only 2% got credit. Why is this profession still invisible?

Recorded live at Illuminate@NeoCon 2026 in Chicago, this episode features Rebecca Keehner, Senior Interior Designer at Stantec Architecture — a global architecture and engineering firm with all major design disciplines under one roof. Hosts Avi Mor of Morlights and Lisa Reed of Reed Burkett Lighting Design (RBLD) dig into the structural dynamics of how lighting actually gets done on projects. Who owns it? Who should?

Rebecca introduces what she calls the "triangle of responsibility" — the working relationship between interior designers, lighting designers, and electrical engineers — and makes a sharp case for why adding a lighting designer doesn't inflate a budget, it redistributes expertise where it belongs. The conversation moves into specification rigor, material testing under controlled light conditions, and the persistent problem of lighting designers going uncredited on award-winning projects. "98% of the jobs had lighting designers on them — but only the lighting design firms were able to promote that they were involved." Short episode. Dense content.

Rebecca Keehner is a Senior Interior Designer at Stantec Architecture with 19+ years of experience across retail, restaurant, healthcare, multi-family, and corporate projects. NCIDQ certified and LEED accredited, she pairs 15 years of Revit expertise with a design approach rooted in form, materiality, and client experience.

In This Episode:

(00:00) Live from NeoCon: Rebecca Keehner on her role at Stantec Architecture

(03:04) The triangle of responsibility explained

(05:50) How scope and fee divide across the lighting triangle

(10:26) Specification precision and the cost of getting it wrong

(11:56) How light controls visual hierarchy in a space

(16:14) Testing materials under real lighting conditions

(19:06) Color casting and why flat samples mislead

(20:02) The four visual design disciplines in the built environment

(22:06) The lighting design credit gap in industry awards

(24:36) Budget, schedule, team, or client: what matters most

(30:22) Rebecca's favorite lighting experience: the redwoods

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About the show:

Lighting Matters is hosted by Lisa Reed and Avi Mor. In each episode, we’ll dig deep into the meticulous process of creating lighting design for architecture, showcasing industry leaders who balance artistic creativity with technical precision, and listen as they share their successes and challenges in architectural lighting design.

Resources:

Stantec Architecture — Rebecca Keehner's firm

URL: https://www.stantec.com

IALD — iald.org

NeoCon neocon.com

Lighting Matters Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighting-matters-podcast/
Lighting Matters Podcast YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbLkEKnB8XgSXoeDY0T8t3w

Lisa Reed https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-j-reed-b198154/

Reed Burkett Lighting Design http://www.rbldi.com

Avraham Mor https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrahammor/

Morlights https://www.morlights.com/