Meet Janelle Drouet, Mazzetti’s new Senior Lighting Designer. For more than 20 years, Janelle has contributed to the success of a broad spectrum of lighting design projects of varying sizes and complexities including LEED, WELL, daylighting, heritage, fast track, and design-build projects. Regardless of scope or project type, she firmly believes that good lighting design, access to daylighting and/or shading, is a basic human right and it should be equitable for all. Janelle joins Mazzetti as a Senior Associate, based in San Francisco, CA, supporting all Mazzetti projects, with a focus on the West Coast.
Discover more about Janelle in this short interview below…
HOW DID YOU GET INTO YOUR SPECIFIC LINE OF WORK? WHAT ABOUT THIS ROLE EXCITES YOU?
I often say lighting found me, as I did not know this was a specialty early on in my career. I studied Interior Design, Architecture, and Electrical Engineering and thought about how I could make a positive impact in my community and simultaneously grow as a designer/artist using light as an artistic medium. I found that natural and electric lighting can vary in form and function and the holistic approach to both creates a unique challenge with optimum outcomes. What excites me at Mazzetti is that I can help contribute to a positive environmental impact by fostering innovation and collaborations to develop sustainable solutions.
TELL US ABOUT A MEMORABLE PROJECT.
I enjoy helping clients, owners, architects, engineers, and the broader team realize a vision successfully. I fondly remember a recent project for a confidential media client that had various technical spaces, theater, workspaces, art installations, and luminous ceilings. I lead a multi-disciplinary consulting team where I was also the Senior Lighting Designer / Associate Principal. With the architect, client and contracting teams we were able to achieve highly detailed, extraordinary spaces with our efforts. Existing and new relationships were developed during this period that I feel very proud to help foster. I enjoyed the variety of challenges from complex controls to integrated acoustic solutions and was inspired by the early storyboarding process that gave us a platform for our concepts.
WHAT EXCITES YOU MOST ABOUT YOUR LINE OF WORK?
I have been a lighting designer for over 20 years, and what excites me about the lighting industry is collaboration with others in the lighting community and mentoring emerging professionals. Additionally, lighting design is a field in which my curiosity and technical expertise adds value to progressing the design process and discovering new methods and solutions, while calling upon the traditional solutions when appropriate.
WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO MAZZETTI?
The people and culture brought me to Mazzetti. There is a larger pool of talented multi-disciplinary subject matter experts and being able to look at lighting design through a sustainable lens focused on both natural and electric lighting excites me. I enjoy the collaborative process and a design community that welcomes it.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT FOR THE FUTURE OF MAZZETTI?
I am excited at the foresight that Mazzetti has shown as an organization. From digital initiatives to fostering a healthy environment for the people who work there, the company’s ethos allows space for innovation where the process for project delivery is sustainable and balanced for the individuals contributing. As a Benefit Corporation that also promotes employee wellness, we are better positioned to be flexible for the future and promote environmentally conscious solutions.
WHAT IS YOUR UNIQUE (OR GREATEST) VALUE YOU BRING TO CLIENTS? TO THE INDUSTRY?
I strive to be a subject matter expert, illumination engineer, and creative storyteller. I balance artistry with functional needs, creating enhanced environments with thoughtful selection of materials while contributing to overall successful outcomes for wellness and impact. I listen to clients’ needs and desires to boil the challenge down to first principles and constraints of the project. Then, through collaborative process, I help lead and implement best practices on technical solutions.
TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR LIFE OUTSIDE OF WORK- WHAT ARE YOUR PASSIONS OR HOBBIES?
Outside of work, I enjoy my family, friends, and the great outdoors. I am passionate about life and always up for an adventure. I like to paint, dance, hike, fly planes, ride horses, watch movies (a huge marvel fan), bake, develop a science or lighting experiment, and listen to music. We are a French American family (I met my husband in Normandy while studying the language) and we have two little girls that are smart, brave, independent, and will change the world. I enjoy seeing my little ones happy and curious about life and the world around them. I love to laugh and sing and appreciate that every day is a gift – so I work to fill my days to the brim with joy.