Nicolas Houel holds a PhD in urban planning and night space development. He is the founder of the lighting design practice l’Observatoire de la nuit and is an associate researcher at the AAU laboratory in Nantes, France.

He works on the inclusion of citizens’ opinion within the construction of the night-time public space. With the development of large-scale consulting tools, he explores different methods to support local communities in raising awareness of artificial lighting. More broadly, this support also regards the choice and precise parameters of new lighting technologies that are now present on the market, to produce nocturnal urban ambiances that are adapted to the needs and expectations of stakeholders.