To keep things fair and aligned with school-based support, all team members must be from the same school.
Design Competition
Shade Zones
An annual design competition to cool LA’s hottest neighborhoods
About shade zones
Shade Zones is an annual design competition to keep LA cool and moving.
Each year, Shade Zones will call for bold, inventive solutions to real-world design challenges that make public spaces cooler, safer, and more inviting. The best ideas are built to last, delivering comfort and resilience for years to come.
2025 Competition Organizers
Modular Shade
2025 Design Challenge
Design modular, temporary shade that can go up fast around public hot spots like bus stops, event spaces, and parks.
This is your chance to design cool, creative shade that could be showcased countywide. Our partner LA Metro could use the winning designs to shape their next projects.
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Requirements
Designs must be:
- Climate-resilient and functional
- Modular and easy for volunteers to install
- Durable, sustainable, and accessible
- Visually adaptable to different use cases
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Who Can Enter
All graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in LA County colleges and universities. Each team can have up to 4 students and must name a mentor or supervisor from their school’s faculty or staff.
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Key Dates & Deadlines
August 28, 2025
Informational WebinarSeptember 2 – October 15, 2025
Registration
Deadline for registration is Wednesday, 10/15/25 at 11:59 PM PSTOctober 16 – December 19, 2025
Office Hours with Expert AdvisorsNovember 3, 2025 – January 15, 2026
Accepting Submissions
Deadline for submissions is Thursday, 1/15/26 at 11:59 PM PSTJanuary 16 – January 30, 2026
Jury ReviewFebruary 2026
Winners AnnouncedApril 2026
Exhibition during LA Climate Week
Frequently asked questions
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One design per team. Bring your best idea and give it your all!
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Yes! After registration closes on October 15, we’ll post a list of architecture and design firms, as well as other experts offering virtual “office hours” right here. Students can book time to get expert advice—but your team should still lead the design and do the heavy lifting.
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Yes! Feel free to include graphics that help bring your concept to life—just don’t include your school name or logo anywhere. All judging will be blind to keep things fair.
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Components should be sized to fit on a standard pallet size and should be durable enough to withstand storage and transport.A standard pallet size is 48 inches by 40 inches, with a maximum weight supported of 4,600 pounds.All components must fit within this size and weight limit.
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All entries must be submitted online as a single 36″ x 48″ poster in portrait orientation as a PDF (up to 50MB). This is your team’s canvas—use it to tell the full story of your design. (Come back here between November 3, 2025 and January 15, 2026 to submit your entry.)
Your poster should include:
- Concept + Rationale (max. 300 words)
- At least two images of the design, including one superimposed on a real or proposed site
- Design details, including structural strategy, material selection, and construction sequence
- Sustainability + re-use strategy
- Diagrams, sketches, and design development that show how your idea came to life
Keep it clear, compelling, and ready to wow.
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Modular means your design is made of repeatable parts that can be moved around, mixed up, or scaled to fit different places. It’s about flexibility, adaptability, and smart simplicity.
Competition Resources
Tools & Info
Resources to help you think, plan, and build.
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Pulp Pavilion Coachella
Temporary, 1,300 ft² pavilion made from recycled paper-pulp tubes forming seven 20‑ft sculptural “trees”
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¡MOMENTO! Pavilion
A temporary, modular pavilion made of four reconfigurable components—shade, seating, service, and shelving—used for a public launch event in LA’s Grand Park
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Storm Cloud Pavilion
A temporary tensile pavilion created with steel supports and stretched spandex fabric to celebrate SCI-Arc’s 40th anniversary
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¡Sombra! – Experiments in Shade
A seasonal public art and shade program commissioning artists to create temporary, modular shade structures in parks across Phoenix
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Tangram Canopy
A modular, steel‑rod canopy composed of triangle‑based “tangram” modules, used as a covered market pavilion during the COART Festival
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LATTC Shade Structures & Systems
A community-engaged initiative to co-design temporary, scalable shade and clean cooling systems for high-heat, underserved LA neighborhoods, in partnership with Pico Union Housing Corporation and Pando Populus
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Solar Bytes Pavilion
A robotic‑3D‑printed pavilion made of 94 interlocking plastic modules designed for outdoor festivals, doubling as a daytime shade canopy and nighttime light sculpture
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Serpentine Pavilion
Originally built as an immersive pavilion for Kensington Gardens, the structure has been exhibited around the world
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Redmond Technology Station Bridge
A series of large, interconnecting, white canopies that run the length of the 1,100-foot pedestrian bridge
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La Sombrita
A small perforated metal panel with solar lighting, attached to existing bus stop poles as a fast-deploy shade and safety solution in underserved LA neighborhoods
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Santa Monica Big Blue Bus Stops
Santa Monica redesigned its bus stops in 2016, using modular components to create attractive and unique public spaces
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Shade Map
UCLA’s has created a shade layer on the American Forests Tree Equity Score that projects shade at noon, 3 PM, and 6 PM
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Shadowmap
Web apps that can help you see which way shadows are cast in LA during different times of year and day
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Shade Design for Public Spaces
Shade design guidelines produced by the Municipal Association of Victoria, Australia
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Shade: An Urban Design Mandate
Journal article on the importance of shade
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Circular Economy Design Principles
Introduction and explanation of circular economy design principles
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Embodied Carbon: Building Materials
Guidance on how to eliminate the emissions hidden in concrete, steel, insulation, and other building materials
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Temporary Installation Visual References
Top architecture projects recently published on ArchDaily that are temporary installations
More questions?
We’ve got you covered. Reach out and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.