Los Angeles, California (2024)
TRANSAMERICA PYRAMID CENTER
Originally completed in 1972, the Transamerica Pyramid Center reopened in September 2024 following a comprehensive renovation by Foster + Partners. Lighting by L’Observatoire International emphasizes the building’s structural clarity, with warm illumination throughout the lobby, amenities, and exterior connections. Restored exterior fixtures, low‑level landscape lighting to Redwood Park, and a conservatory that glows at dusk reinforce continuity between tower, plaza, and street. The reimagined spire is illuminated from within by more than 1,300 LED lights, reestablishing the tower’s nighttime presence on the San Francisco skyline.
Architect: William Pereira, Foster + Partners
Interior Designer: Foster + Partners
Client: SHVO
Principal: Hervé Descottes L’ Observatoire International
Project Leaders: Leah Xandora, Carlos Garcia
A CITY'S BEACON
More than 1,300 LED fixtures illuminate the spire from within, filling its interior volume with a soft, radiant glow that reads as a luminous crown rather than an exterior glare. Dynamic, color‑changing capabilities allow the crown to shift for special events and civic moments, drawing inspiration from the theatrical lighting of the world’s most iconic skyscrapers. The result transforms height into spectacle, reinforcing the tower as a defining visual anchor in San Francisco’s nighttime skyline.
VISION
The recent redevelopment of the Transamerica Pyramid reinterprets William Pereira’s landmark through a contemporary lens led by Foster + Partners, whose vision centers on openness, performance, and the expression of structure through light. The approach reframes the building not as a static icon, but as an evolving civic presence—where upgraded LED lighting plays a key role in articulating its crystalline geometry after dark. Rather than imposing spectacle, the illumination strategy is restrained and architectural, emphasizing the building’s verticality, crown, and precise edges while aligning with sustainability goals. In collaboration with a wider team of engineers and specialists, the design reinforces the Pyramid’s legacy as a study in form and light—modernized for a new era while remaining unmistakably itself.