L.A.’s New Modular Bus Shelter Is a Minimalist Marvel

Can design reimagine urban infrastructure while creating a more sustainable future? The multidisciplinary teams led by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) with Designworks, Studio One Eleven, and Tranzito-Vector are attempting to do just that through a new bus shelter program in Los Angeles. Installing 150 out of 3,000 new modular bus shelters across the greater L.A. area, they are delivering comfort, essential shade, and transit equity to promote a more climate-resistant future for the city.

Taking inspiration from California Modernism, these functional shelters feature clean lines, minimal structure, and a pale green color, inspired by the agave attenuata plant, identifying them as a product of L.A.’s arid, native landscape. Not only are these structures visually appealing, but SOM’s modular approach allows for flexibility and versatility across various urban environments.

Carlos Madrid, SOM’s senior associate principal and design director on the project, shares how adaptability was the primary focus while still maintaining a cohesive visual identity: “We created a kit-of-parts system, adaptable in size, configuration, and material finish, that allows each shelter to respond to specific community needs. This modularity also enables futureproofing: Components can be swapped or upgraded as technologies and needs evolve.”

SOM Crafts a Modular Bus Shelter in the Heart of L.A.

As temperatures across Los Angeles climb, these modular bus shelters serve as essential shade in underprivileged areas. Their canopies, which can be expanded depending on the location, provide up to 35% more shade than prior models. In collaboration with Designworks, a digital infrastructure was installed with reliable E-ink display screens to provide immediate transit updates, route changes, and weather notifications for the benefit and safety of all riders.

The Los Angeles Bus Shelter Program was selected as a winner in Fast Company’s 2025 World Changing Ideas Awards. This recognition acknowledges the team’s efforts of reshaping the public transportation experience in L.A. and affirms the deeper purpose of the project: to face climate change and social inequity through reflective and impactful design.

“These shelters aren’t just infrastructure; they’re part of a larger vision for a more humane, resilient, and transit-oriented Los Angeles,” Madrid says. “For our team, the recognition underscores the power of collaborative, interdisciplinary design to deliver a tangible public benefit.”

Reshaping the Public Transportation Experience in L.A.