We invite you to leave your mark, share your dreams and ideas, and together we will create the HEART OF THE CITY. The Municipality of Burgas announces an international architectural competition for a SPACE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART AND CULTURE, meeting global standards.
A place where artistic expression meets inspiration, and the future comes alive in harmony with the present. Together, we can transform an iconic space in the center of Burgas through innovative and contemporary approaches, breathe new life into it, and turn it into a symbol of creativity and development.
We look forward to your ideas to create a space of value, meaning, and significance!
„The Sea is not a fiction and happiness exists!“ – Hristo Fotev
Park environment
Cultural space
Administrative services zone
A place where people and events are woven into a network of inspiration and excitement. A park environment and art, creating a harmonious synthesis with no clear boundaries. An artistic space pulsating with flexibility and freedom, where contemporary creators can express themselves without restrictions.
The competition area, known as “The Hole,” is located between San Stefano Boulevard and Baba Ganka Square to the east, Alexandrovska Street and Troikata Square to the west, General Gurko Street and the Courthouse to the north, and Khan Asparukh Street to the south.
Two Honorary Mentions of 7 500 euro each.
The Burgas Municipality will conduct negotiations and conclude a contract for the development of a technical and detailed investment project based on an conceptual design with one of the three participants who ranked first, second, or third.
The maximum estimated value of the design services for planning the future technical and detailed investment project is 450 000 euro, excluding VAT.
| 25.09.2025 | Official announcement of the competition |
| 25.09.2025-19.01.2026 | Time for preparation of the overall concept and development of the project |
| 09.01.2026 | Deadline for submitting questions |
| 14.01.2026 | Deadline for registration on the platform and submitting the documents |
| 19.01.2026 | Deadline for submitting the projects |
| 20-22.01.2026 | Preparation for jury evaluation of the competition materials |
| 23.01-10.02.2026 | Jury evaluation |
| 16.02.2026 | Announcement of the competition results |
The competition is open to all Bulgarian and foreign persons or their associations. There are no restrictive conditions. There are no financial requirements.
All participants have equal access to data, materials and information. The conditions for participation are the same and no preference is given to individual participants.
Competition procedures are clear and transparent. The merits of the entries will be assessed by an anonymous jury.
All competition entries will be evaluated by a competent, international jury, according to the criteria announced. They will only be excluded if anonymity is broken and the project omits to give a price for construction.
The competition projects will be evaluated by a panel of 9 international jury members.
BULGARIA
architect
Tihomir Raychev completed his higher education at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Sofia, earning Master’s degrees in both Civil Engineering and Architecture. He is a member of both the Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria and the Chamber of Engineers in Investment Design. He also holds a postgraduate qualification in building energy efficiency assessment.
He has been active in the field of design since 2005. In 2012, he began working at the Regional Directorate for National Construction Control. Later, he joined the administration of the Municipality of Burgas. He has served as a district architect at CAU “Vazrazhdane” and CAU “Primorie”, then as Head of the “Spatial Planning and Architecture” Department, and he currently holds the position of Chief Architect of Burgas Municipality.
BELGIUM
architect
Cédric Van Parys is an artist and researcher operating between Brussels (BE), Rotterdam (NL), and Sofia (BG). He creates sculptural works, site-specific installations, photographic assemblages, and publications that explore the relationship between monuments, infrastructure, symbols, rituals, and aesthetics. His work has been exhibited at institutions, galleries, and universities in the United States, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Italy, and China.
Cédric Van Parys graduated with a Master’s in architecture from KU Leuven, Campus Sint-Lucas Ghent in 2012. Then followed the postgraduate “Creative Practice for Narrative Environments” at Central-Saint-Martins, University of the Arts, London in 2013. After his studies he worked with Rem Koolhaas (OMA/AMO) on multiple research and exhibition projects. Cédric Van Parys is the founder of Office CCXD, a collaborative design studio that creates exhibition designs, scenography, and architectural concepts.
GERMANY
landscape architect
Teresa Burmester has a strong interdisciplinary background in landscape architecture and urban design. After earning a Master of Science in Landscape Architecture in 2011 from the University of Kassel in Germany and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) in Vienna, Austria, she gained her first professional experience working in several Swiss and German landscape architecture offices between 2012 and 2018. From 2018 to 2022, she served as a Research Associate at the Technical University of Darmstadt in the Department of Design and Open Space Planning. In 2020, she founded her firm lichtelandschaften, a practice that integrates social, ecological, and functional relationships into landscape design. Since 2021, she has also been a Lecturer in Open Space Planning at the University of Siegen’s Department of Architecture. In 2024, she was appointed to the Urban Design Advisory Board of the City of Frankfurt am Main.
BULGARIA
architect
Borislav Vladimirov is the founder of Diart Architects and a designer with over 27 years of professional experience. He is the author of hundreds of projects in the fields of residential, public, and industrial construction, as well as the designer of numerous spatial development plans and projects. He has been an active participant in the activities of the Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria (CAB) since its establishment, serving in most of its structures — the Supervisory Board, the Managing Board, and currently as Chairman of the Managing Board. Between 1999 and 2021, he held the position of Chief Architect of the Municipality of Sapareva Banya and the Municipality of Boboshevo. From 2001 to 2009, he was a Member of Parliament in the 39th and 40th National Assemblies, where he actively participated in the Committee on Local Self-Government, Regional Policy and Public Works, as well as in the Committee on Agriculture and Forests.
BULGARIA
landscape architect
Grigor Perchikliyski is a landscape architect with over 20 years of professional experience. He graduated from the University of Forestry in 2005 and later earned a PhD in “Urban and Landscape Greening”. Since 2007, he has been a partner and managing director of Design Group Studio, together with landscape architect Desislav Evlogiev. The two have received recognition in various national and international competitions, including the Second Prize in the International Architectural Competition for the reconstruction and improvement of the urban environment around the Municipal Market in Stara Zagora (2024). Perchikliyski is also actively involved as a juror, including in Archinova 2022 and Archinova 2024.
NETHERLANDS
architect
Stavros Gargaretas is an architect at MVRDV and a Researcher at The Why Factory (T?F), led by Winy Maas. Since joining MVRDV in 2015, he has led projects of various scales across different cultural contexts—from competitions for new philharmonic halls and high-density housing projects in India to mixed-use masterplans in Thailand. More recently, his focus has shifted to Albania and the Middle East, where he oversees MVRDV projects across multiple phases. Through The Why Factory at TU Delft and CTU Prague, Stavros is involved in education and research, analysing and envisioning scenarios for the future of cities.
TURKEY
architect
Sevince Bayrak is an architect and writer based in Istanbul. She co-founded SO? Architecture and Ideas with Oral Göktaş in 2007. Together, they curated the Pavilion of Türkiye at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia 2023, presenting the exhibition project Ghost Stories: Carrier Bag Theory of Architecture. Bayrak is the author of Bir Meydan Öyküsü: Beyazıt, a book on public space, and holds a PhD in architectural design. She has been teaching at MEF University since 2015.
GERMANY
architect
Ivan Dimitrov has played an important role in the design team at David Chipperfield Architects Berlin since 2008. As Project Lead and with a focus on conceptual design, he is responsible for the concept development and artistic direction of competitions and concept studies, including projects such as Development Schützenstraße in Munich and the masterplan for the Bötzow Brewery in Berlin. As Design Lead, he takes on a guiding role throughout the whole project, such as WaltherPark in Bolzano.
Ivan studied landscape architecture at the University of Forestry in Sofia and then architecture at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.
BULGARIA
artist
Svetozar Benchev is a Bulgarian artist and university professor. He graduated from the Ilia Petrov National School of Fine Arts and later obtained a Master’s degree in Painting and a postgraduate qualification from the National Academy of Art in Sofia, where he was a scholarship holder of the Dechko Uzunov Foundation. Since 1996 he has been a lecturer in drawing at the National Academy of Art, and in 2010 he was awarded the academic title of Professor. He has held a number of academic and administrative positions, including Head of the Drawing Department, Vice-Dean, two terms as Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts, and since 2023 he has served as Director of the National Academy of Art – Burgas.
His artistic career includes more than 20 solo exhibitions in Bulgaria and abroad, as well as participation in numerous prestigious national and international exhibitions, plein-air workshops, and academic projects. He is the recipient of the First Prize for Painting at the Art Rosaliada competition and has received nominations for painting at the Allianz awards.
RESERVE MEMBERS
GERMANY
landscape architect
and urban designer
From 2013 to 2019, he worked at architectural firms in Hamburg, Xi’an, Munich, and Frankfurt. Since 2019, he has been a research associate at the Department of Urban Planning at the University of Siegen, and since 2022, he has been in partnership with the company lichtelandschaften. Consulting for municipalities on urban development strategies and climate adaptation concepts. Jury member for the architecture design competition [Neue Architekturschule Siegen], Siegen, Germany, 2024.
BULGARIA
urbanist
Nikolay Tsotsomanski graduated in 2009 from the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Sofia, Bulgaria, with a degree in Urban Planning. In 2011, he joined the administration of the Municipality of Burgas, where he successively held the positions of Chief Expert and Head of the Investment Design Department. He currently serves as Director of the Directorate of Territorial Development, and has over 15 years of professional experience in the field of spatial planning and urban development projects.
BULGARIA
architect
Eli Narliyska-Haralampiyeva completed her higher education at Varna Free University “Chernorizets Hrabar” in the city of Varna, obtaining a Master’s degree in Architecture. In 2020, she joined the administration of the Municipality of Burgas as a Chief Expert in the Directorate of Territorial Development. She currently serves as District Architect for the Directorate Center for Administrative Services Zora within the Municipality of Burgas.
BULGARIA
architect
Sonya Kalcheva is an architect with a focus on sustainable approaches to the built environment, working across a broad spectrum of projects including educational facilities, restoration, and interior design. She is a 2020 graduate of the TU Wien, holds a Master in Architecture and was awarded a research grant to study at Saga University and the University of Stuttgart in 2019. She currently serves as a member of the Burgas 2032 Foundation team.
