Current Tenders & Competitions

The Small Lots, Big Impacts Design Competition, organized by cityLAB-UCLA in collaboration with the City of Los Angeles and LA4LA, calls on designers, architects, and students worldwide to reimagine small, vacant lots across the city as resilient, community-focused housing solutions. Amidst the backdrop of Los Angeles' chronic housing shortage and recent wildfire devastation, the initiative aims to spark a new vision for gentle density and shared, sustainable urban living. Participants are invited to design infill housing projects that can act as replicable models for both public and private sites under a quarter-acre in size. The competition focuses on two site categories—Gentle Density and Shared Future—representing different housing typologies and urban conditions. Winning designs will serve as prototypes for future development and may proceed to a second-phase RFQ for potential construction. Emphasizing adaptability, performance, resilience, and architectural excellence, the competition seeks to promote housing that strengthens neighborhoods, expands access to ownership, and reflects a forward-looking vision for Los Angeles. This is not just a design challenge, but a critical intervention in shaping a more equitable and climate-resilient city.