LATAM and Lighting Design

The co-founder and principal of Sighte Studio, Francesca Bastianini is committed to a practice that folds education, research, and community engagement into design.

Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Francesca moved to the United States to attend Smith College, studying Theatre and Psychology, followed by a Masters in Psychology from Lesley University. In 2010 Francesca graduated from the MFA lighting program at Parsons.

In addition to her work with Sighte Studio and as a Part-time faculty member at SCE, Francesca is also an active member in the New York Lighting industry and volunteers time with Equity in Lighting, the Designers Lighting Forum of New York (DLFNY), and the Women in Lighting Project.

Monica Llamas is an Associate at Map Design Studio in New York. She has a wealth of experience delivering lighting design for projects ranging from high-end hospitality to public infrastructure and historic landmarks. Originally from Guatemala and trained as an architect at Universidad Francisco Marroquín before earning her MFA in Lighting Design at Parsons School of Design, Monica brings her passion and curiosity to lighting design. Over more than ten years in the field, she has contributed to landmark projects including Delano Hotel and the Reimagine the Erie Canals initiative, earning multiple LIT, Lumen, and IES awards along the way. She has taught architectural lighting design to students in Guatemala, staying closely connected to her roots while shaping lighting design conversations across the Americas.

With over 22 years of experience in the architectural lighting design field, Claudia Saavedra has been involved in a wide and challenging range of design projects. These include the typical New York City office fit-out, transportation, high-end residential projects, higher education, healthcare and state-of-the-art laboratory buildings.

As a director of Lighting, for the past 13 years with Vanderweil Engineers, with offices in Boston, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Alexandria and Miami, she has been leading lighting design projects for large-scale Higher Education, Science & Technology, Healthcare, and Multifamily Residential projects awarded by the company.

Some of these are laboratories mix-use (lab and work) with Genmab, Sandoz, Insmed, Nokia; Ramapo Library, Lehigh University Science Center, Rutgers University Athletic Center, Stockton University Science Building and Educational Building, Mount Sinai Emergency department renovation, Flamingo Residential Towers interior and exterior Lighting in Miami, Grenada House of Parliament, Grenada The Point at Petit Calivigny high end residential, Mission Critical projects, among others.
She is currently working on several new laboratory and healthcare projects, while closing some other large projects, such as Penn State University Physics Laboratory Building and Osmond Building Renovation, which started in 2020 and it is expected to finish construction this year 2026.

Originally from Chile, where she studied architecture, Claudia was always drawn to the lighting aspects of design. Having received her master’s degree in architecture, she then began working on urban design projects in Santiago, the capital city of Chile. She later moved to New York to study architectural lighting at Parsons, the New School.
Claudia loves lighting. Both, the artistic and challenging technical aspects of it.

She lives in the East Village with her daughter now finishing College in Oberlin, OH and their 4-year-old dog Cleo, a cute mini-Schnauzer.

Magali Méndez is based in Mexico City and is an architect in love with light. She has a Masters in Lighting Design from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden and worked at Wonderfulight in France before starting her own company in 2009 SáaS Lighting Conception where she has worked on small scale projects i.e. a bathroom to large scale, a city Master plan and her designs include the Morelos Theatre, Fronton Mexico and Arena Acapulco. Magali is past winner of the 40under40 Award and also the ambassador for Women in Lighting in Mexico. She is also the co-founder of Light in Me, a platform that promotes the awareness of mental health and balance in life.

Paola Pietrantoni is an architect and lighting designer, co-founder of STUDIO ATOMIC LLC, a New York-based architectural lighting design studio. Originally from Valparaíso, Chile, her approach to design is deeply influenced by her early education in observation and drawing, as well as her studies at Politecnico di Milano, where she completed a Master’s in Lighting Design.

A professional member of both the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), Paola is dedicated to advancing the field of lighting design. With a passion for integrating new technologies into hospitality, residential, educational, and retail design, she explores how lighting enhances spatial perception and well-being. Her work often engages with the interplay between natural and artificial light, creating immersive experiences that elevate architectural narratives.