Prototypes for a Department of Umbrology

This online zine invites readers to transition from a dangerous, modernist solar urbanism toward a renewed hope in the collective powers of shade. As the second installment in a series on urban shadows, it proposes the creation of a Department of Umbrology (DoU)—a speculative, popular institution designed as a parasitic companion to existing civic administrations. This initiative challenges the traditional heliocentric view of the city, moving beyond purely technical nature-based solutions to advocate for a radical redescription of urban habitability in the face of escalating climatic mutations. The text documents a collaborative effort to test the «DoU hypothesis» through experimental, interventive ethnography. It outlines practical prototypes and speculative political practices aimed at addressing three critical spatial challenges: large open transit hubs, narrow streets restricted by fire regulations, and heat-vulnerable playgrounds. By gathering a multidisciplinary collective to explore the material and social complexity of shade, the zine functions as a roadmap for creating regions of care. It treats shadow-making not just as a cooling strategy, but as a site for sociality and interspecific protection. Ultimately, this issue serves as a call to action to institutionalize sheltered thinking, transforming the investigation of urban heat into a shared, hands-on practice of world-making that protects those most exposed to the devastating effects of the sun.