West Coast Expansion Brings More Available Light to Los Angeles

	Kate Furst

Available Light (AvLt), an internationally recognized lighting design firm specializing in museum, architectural, trade show/special event lighting design, announces the opening of a new Los Angeles studio. This first West Coast expansion adds to existing studios in Boston, New York, and Raleigh.

Founded in Boston in 1992 by president and creative director Steven Rosen, FIALD, Available Light is celebrating 30 years of creative achievement and design innovation by focusing on regional growth. "Using contemporary tools and collaboration best practices, lighting design can technically be accomplished remotely," says Rosen. "But strong relationships underpin every aspect of our business. By opening in LA, we're better poised to meet our West Coast clients at their doorsteps."

A greater emphasis on lighting design in California will also help focus AvLt on emerging technologies and trends that inform progressive energy sustainability standards. "We've seen it before when it comes to energy standards -- California influences nation-wide trends. Now, we'll also be working with our West Coast partners as best practices for both architecture and experience design are developed."

AvLt's Los Angeles studio will be led by managing associate principal Kate Furst, IALD, MIES. Furst has worked in the Los Angeles area for a decade, where she established a reputation for outstanding lighting design in architecture, attractions, exhibitions, and the arts. "Available Light is a natural fit for Los Angeles, which is home for many pioneering firms that operate at the intersection of imagination and technology," says Furst. "I'm thrilled at the opportunity to contribute to Available Light's legacy, which is based on creating compelling and beautiful experiences that use light to tell stories and make long lasting impressions."

"Kate is well known for her sophisticated design skills. She is also highly respected as a creative thinker with a collaborative, partnering spirit who really knows how to roll up her sleeves," says Rosen. "Like many of us at Available Light, she comes from a theater background, so there's immediate alignment with our aesthetics, process, and culture."

Furst is active in many organizations, including the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), and the American Institute of Architects (AIA). She sits on the board of The Illuminating Engineering Society Los Angeles (IESLA), is an organizational volunteer for SoCal NOMA's Architecture Summer Camp, and is committed to supporting the next generation of professionals, particularly through her leadership of the IESLA Russell Cole Memorial Student Design Competition. She received a BS in Business and Theater from the University of Mary Washington and an MFA in Lighting Design from the University of Cincinnati. Furst has won many industry service and design awards.

Recent AvLt projects include the award-winning Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Amherst New College Science Center, The International Spy Museum, and trade exhibits at both the RSA and ASCO international conferences.