The UK is heating up as a result of climate change and the urban heat island effect.
Our cities are affected the most, but the heat is felt everywhere. Whilst some may enjoy the sunshine, rising temperatures are creating serious challenges. They impact our comfort, health and safety; amplify vulnerabilities and inequalities; increase demand for cooling energy and water, and put strain on vital infrastructure. But there’s a simple, effective, and efficient solution to these challenges that could be doing more for us and our built environment: shade.
Shade the UK in partnership with our sponsor the British Blind and Shutter Association (BBSA) and our supporter Melting Metropolis, are excited to announce our upcoming exhibition on all things related to heat and shade.
‘Shade the UK - Shading for a Resilient Future’ will creatively showcase our collective work on raising awareness of the issues relating to hot weather in the UK, understanding the stories of people who have experienced heat and heatwaves, and will highlight the range of shading solutions available for buildings and public spaces.
Shade is a simple, effective, and efficient response to the challenges of climate change: from natural shade (e.g. trees, shrubs, and climbing plants), to structural shade (e.g. blinds, shutters, awnings, and canopies), to hybrid shade (e.g. pergolas, trellises, and green walls) down to personal shade (e.g. parasols, visors, and hats). Shade comes in many forms and will increasingly make the difference between summer in our cities being either cool and comfortable, or unbearable and unsafe.
Shade isn’t just a nice to have - it’s essential for more equitable, sustainable, and resilient buildings and public spaces. Shade makes sense - so why aren’t we fully embracing it? What’s stopping us from shading our built environment? Come along to the exhibition, join the conversation and let’s celebrate shade!
This exhibition is curated by Shade the UK and sponsored by the British Blind and Shutter Association (BBSA). It is supported by Melting Metropolis.
Watch this space for details on events related to the ‘Shade the UK – Shading for a Resilient Future’ exhibition.
About the organisations
Shade the UK
Shade the UK are a Community Interest Company (CIC) based in Hackney and Islington, London. We work collaboratively to adapt the built environment and public spaces to protect vulnerable people against a changing climate.
The starting point for Shade the UK’s theory of change is that we have a growing yet avoidable problem with hot weather in the UK. We plan to solve this problem in three main ways: raising awareness, securing funding for practical projects, and influencing policy and legislation. The outcome we seek to achieve is zero deaths from overheating in the UK, and protecting the health and wellbeing of vulnerable people.
British Blind and Shutter Association (BBSA)
The British Blind and Shutter Association (BBSA) is the only national trade association for UK companies that manufacture, supply and install interior and exterior blinds, shutters, awnings, security grilles, and associated control systems. The BBSA has over 600 members and plays a leading role in ensuring high standards of product, service, and fair trading within the industry.
As a member of the European Solar Shading Organisation (ES-SO), the BBSA is a champion of Global Shading Day 2025. This is an annual event to raise awareness about the positive benefits of solar shading products. It takes place on the first day of spring each year (21 March) to highlight how shading can create more sustainable, energy efficient, and comfortable buildings.
Melting Metropolis
Melting Metropolis is a Wellcome-funded project exploring how people in London, Bristol, New York and Paris have thought and felt about heat and its impact on their health over time. The project brings together a team of scholars, a community engagement manager, and a research artist from the University of Liverpool, UK, and Queens College, New York to understand the past and present of urban heat and health.
With a focus on sensory, community, and cultural experiences since 1945, Melting Metropolis is investigating how city dwellers have experienced heat and sought to mitigate its impact on their health and well-being. The project aims to move beyond the widespread focus on “climate resilience” to uncover the multiple responses to urban heat and health during an era of climate breakdown.
