Shade Zones 2025/26

Design Competition

2025/26 Challenge

Modular Shade

Designing modular, temporary shade that can go up fast around public hot spots like bus stops, event spaces, and parks.

In partnership with LA Metro, the inaugural competition challenged the next generation of shade-makers to create shade designs that can be adapted to fit a wide variety of real-world use cases.

A jury of 11 distinguished members from public agencies, community organizations, and design and architecture firms evaluated the designs submitted for the Shade Zones Design Competition. All submissions were anonymized and blind reviewed by the jury throughout the judging process.

The general public participated in a Fan Favorite vote with over 1,000 people from around the world casting votes.

Read the 2025/26 Brief

01
Requirements
Designs had to be:

Climate-resilient and functional

Modular and easy for volunteers to install

Durable, sustainable, and accessible

Visually adaptable to different use cases
02
Awards
Awards for Excellence – Each student on the winning team received:
– $500 for first place
– $400 for second place
– $300 for third place

Awards for Sustainability, Innovation, and Fan Favorite – Each student on the selected teams received $100.
03
Over 130 Student Participants

Students from 12 Los Angeles colleges and universities submitted designs. View all designs below.

1st Place Award of Excellence

Design Build

The (Not So) Primitive Hut

USC Architecture students Jaci Hinman and Neri Landi worked with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Arup, MATT Construction (advisor), and USC faculty, Dr. Bhavna Sharma, to turn their Shade Zones submission into a built shade canopy. In the summer of 2026, the (Not So) Primitive Hut was exhibited three times—first, at the Downtown Inglewood Metro station, then at Expo Park, and finally at USC.

Visit the structure, now located in front of Watt Hall at the USC School of Architecture through December, 2026!