Winning design for a sunken contemporary art centre in Burgas, Bulgaria

For years, a central excavation in Burgas known simply as 'The Hole' has sat abandoned. Rather than filling it in or dropping a large building on top, UNFORMED DESIGN proposes keeping the void readable and putting most of a new contemporary art centre below street level, so the surrounding city views stay open. Called Ground of Descent, the scheme won first prize from 145 international entries in the Park Zone 3 competition run by the Municipality of Burgas and the Burgas 2032 Foundation.

Two routes lead down. From Troikata Square, a geometric garden of terraced planting, patterned paving and broad staircases draws people into the site, while a second path along San Stefano Boulevard ties the lower park into everyday walks. Underground, galleries, education spaces, artist studios, workshops and gathering areas sit around sunken courtyards and light wells that bring daylight in.

The only thing above ground is a compact concrete cube on San Stefano Boulevard, acting as a marker and holding a main exhibition hall with a ten-metre ceiling and skylights that can be blacked out. Its facades are stratified rammed concrete, echoing the geological layers of the dig itself.

This is a reader-submitted project and a proposal for now, with no timeline given, but one to keep an eye on if you follow Burgas's plans for 2032.

Our summary of a story from designboom, published 21 October 2026. Read the original

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