Frame the Future! LA’s Housing Manifesto + Poster Showdown 2026

Competition Brief

Frame the Future! LA’s Housing Manifesto + Poster Showdown is an open design competition and a public exhibition that dares to challenge all designers, architects, and artists plus writers, students, and any other creative thinkers to convert the audacious and futuristic housing concepts into a visually enthralling poster, a catchy phrase, and a brief manifesto. The competition is all about getting the wider audience to imagine and accept new housing scenarios in the city of angels, which is a blending pot of urgent housing needs and changing urban dynamics.

Intent

The competition is intending to apply design communication as a civic tool. The participants are not only required to provide technical design solutions but also to portray visionary housing ideas in such a manner that they feel energizing, approachable, and irresistible to the general public. The aim is to assist the people of Los Angeles in realizing the potentials and desiring the same.

Purpose

The aim of Frame the Future! is to annihilate the gap between complicated housing theories and public understanding. The competition wishes to dare the public to be curious, optimistic, and involved regarding the future of housing in Los Angeles by translating the concepts into visual and verbal idioms. It aims at raising the voices of envisioners in architecture, advocacy, design, development, and the creative arts up to the point where the whole civics will have to listen and participate in the conversation.

Requirements

To enter the competition, three integrated elements must be submitted: (1) a poster in portrait PDF format (24″ × 36″) that presents a revolutionary housing future in an uplifting and user-friendly way; (2) a slogan that sums up the concept in a catchy phrase; and (3) a manifesto of no more than 500 words revealing the principles, goals, and yearnings behind the idea. The submissions will be judged on clarity, communicative power, and cultural resonance.

Judging Criteria

Submissions are judged based on their ability to convey difficult housing concepts to the general public in the most effective manner. The evaluation scrutinizes various aspects such as the overall communication strength, the persuasive impact, clarity of the viewpoint of the entry, emotional and cultural connections, visual and written components’ integration, civic dialogue provocation, and the community engagement proof.

Jury

The submissions are assessed by a prestigious jury consisting of experts from various fields like architecture, design, media, advocacy, and civic leadership. The following judges have been confirmed:​

1. Erika Abrams — Cultural Strategist and Executive Director, LA Design Festival
2. Frances Anderton — Design and Architecture Journalist
3. Donna Bojarsky — Founder, Future of Cities (FOC:LA)
4. Stacy Brightman — CEO, The Ebell of Los Angeles
5. Ryan Conroy — Associate Director of Architecture, cityLAB UCLA
6. Joshua Gonzales — Education Director, Abundant Housing Los Angeles
7. Alvin Huang — Architect; Director of Graduate Architecture, USC
8. Kyle Jenkins — Co-President, Seachange Partners; Board Member, WUF
9. Silas Munro — Partner, Polymode
10. Quynh Nguyen — Brand Strategist; Board Member, L.A. Forum
11. Jacob Newstrom — Charles & Ray Eames Foundation
12. Danielle Rago — Architecture and Design Consultant; Board Member, FORT: LA
13. Nithya Raman — Los Angeles City Councilmember, 4th District
14. Arnie Seipel — Chief Content Officer, KCRW
15. Liam Young — Designer, Director, and Futurist

Fees

Rewards

Important Dates

✦ ArchUp Competition Review

The competition organized by a group of local cultural and civic design organizations offers fairly transparent information about the competition and a list of its multidisciplinary jury members, which is a nice feature. It is mainly organized as a design competition that is communicative and advocacy-oriented rather than as a professional or academic architectural commission. The money prizes are small compared to the whole conceptual and graphic work required. The main value for the participant is in developing the portfolio and gaining public exposure. The jury consists of architects, designers, journalists, and public figures, which provides a wide range of cultural insight and not just technical evaluation.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Frame the Future! LA’s Housing Manifesto + Poster Showdown has changed the perception of housing design as a medium of public communication. By challenging participants to consider visceral impact and narrative clarity, it moves architectural and design thinking into the realm of civic debate. The competition’s focus on being able to express oneself and cultural connection has the communication issue of lauding daring housing ideas in a real urban context. No constructed project is for sure, however, the event creates a space for the innovative voices to be heard and share their thoughts on the housing future in Los Angeles. Designer, architect, student, or creative thinker, this competition opens doors for works that not only convey their visions but also attract public imagination.

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