architects invited to adapt former textile school into christo and jeanne-claude centre

REIMAGINING AN INDUSTRIAL SITE AS A GLOBAL CULTURAL LANDMARK

The Municipality of Gabrovo in Bulgaria has issued a call for architects to breathe new life into a monumental piece of the city’s industrial history. This competition offers a rare opportunity to design a world-class venue, the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Centre for Contemporary Art, by reclaiming and adapting the expansive volumes of a former Textile Technical School. Far from a routine renovation, the project is backed by an institutional mandate and international co-financing, establishing a professional commission rather than a mere conceptual exercise. This initiative invites designers to engage with a site of significant cultural weight, moving beyond the boundaries of adaptive reuse to honor the spirit of two of the most influential figures in contemporary art.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude Centre competition calls for entries | all images courtesy of Christo and Jeanne-Claude Centre for Contemporary Art, Gabrovo

A COMPETITION HONORING THE SPIRIT OF ACCESSIBLE ART-MAKING

The initiative is deeply rooted in the history of Gabrovo, the birthplace of Christo. The choice of a former textile school serves as a poetic nod to the artists’ lifelong engagement with fabric and wrapping, creating a thematic bridge between the city’s industrial past and a world-renowned practice that famously transformed urban and natural landscapes. Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work transcended the studio, requiring complex engineering and constant negotiation with the public realm. In this same spirit, the Centre is not intended as a static gallery, but as a multidisciplinary hub for the creation and presentation of contemporary art that mirrors the artists’ own process-driven and publicly accessible approach.

Gabrovo Municipality invites architects to participate in a two-stage competition

THE CHRISTO AND JEANNE-CLAUDE CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART

The competition site offers a significant modernist architectural constellation, featuring high-ceilinged workshops and vast industrial spaces totaling 13,330 square meters. Designers are challenged to create an art center that respects the structure’s 1970s educational character while integrating sustainable solutions in line with New European Bauhaus principles: sustainability, beauty, and inclusion. The program is intentionally diverse, featuring 2,060 square meters of exhibition space, nearly 1,000 square meters of workshops for metal, wood, and textiles, 25 dedicated artists’ studios, along a 700 square meter event space, two libraries and commercial areas such as a restaurant, a café or bar and a gift shop.

seeking conceptual proposal to transform, adapt, and improve the building of the former Textile Technical School

Specific industrial artifacts, such as a jacquard loom and a flannel loom currently on-site, are required to be integrated into the new interior as anchors of the site’s heritage. This transformation extends beyond the walls to the 9,000-square-meter courtyard, which is to be reimagined as an open stage — a green extension of the gallery that connects the centre to the Yantra River and the local cultural ecosystem. The courtyard is intended to function as a contemplative yet vital space, where temporary sculptures and pavilions interact with the natural elements as active co-curators.

the Centre is a space for both the creation and presentation of contemporary art

The evaluation of these complex layers will be overseen by a distinguished international jury, whose composition signals a commitment to both artistic depth and architectural excellence. The panel features seven members with expertise spanning practice, academia, and heritage preservation. The involvement of renowned curators and architects underscores that the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Centre is a definitive professional commission, offering a design contract worth up to one million euros. For international firms navigating the Bulgarian procurement system, the official platform provides matchmaking services to facilitate partnerships with local firms, ensuring that the winning proposal is as practically viable as it is visionary. 

Architects and design teams are invited to submit their conceptual proposals by July 20, 2026. To find out more about the competition and download the full brief, visit the official website.

its activities focus on contemporary art, public art, and textiles

the building of the former textile school is located in the broad centre of Gabrovo

T´this publication is part of a communication activity co-funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No. BG16FFPR003-2.006-0124-C01, Regional Development Programme 2021–2027

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Jury Member Andreas Ruby – Architecture theorist, teacher, book publisher, and exhibition curator. Co-founder of Textbild and Ruby Press. Director of the Swiss Architecture Museum S AM in Basel from 2016 to 2025. Has taught at Cornell University, University of Kassel, TU Graz, and ENSAPM Paris.

Jury Member Aneta Vasileva – Architect, architecture critic, and historian. PhD in history and theory of architecture with a specialization in post-WWII architecture and heritage preservation. Faculty member at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Sofia. Member of ICOMOS Bulgaria and DOCOMOMO International.

Jury Member Bostjan Vuga – Co-founder of SADAR+VUGA (1996), recognized for projects including the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia and Sports Park Stožice in Ljubljana. Full professor at the Faculty of Architecture in Ljubljana since 2021. Former Diploma Unit Master at the AA London (2019–2023). Chairman of the Plecnik Fund Board since 2022.

Jury Member Erich Schoenenberger – Associate Professor at Pratt Institute School of Architecture, Brooklyn. Founding member and director of su11 Architecture + Design, whose work has been exhibited at MoMA NYC, Vitra Design Museum, Istanbul Biennial, and Art Basel.

Jury Member Lutsia Dekova – Chief Architect of the Municipality of Gabrovo.

Jury Member Martin Hristov – Co-founder of E-ARCH architectural studio, Bulgaria. Recipient of the German Design Award, BigSEE Award, Iconic Award, Architizer A+ Award, and Mies van der Rohe nominations. Deputy Chair of the Board of the Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria (2016–2025). Initiator of the Bulgarian Architecture Awards National Competition and key figure in restoring Bulgaria’s participation in the Venice Architecture Biennale.

Jury Member Vasif Kortun – Curator, writer, and educator in contemporary visual art and spatial practices. Founder and first director of SALT, Platform Garanti, Proje4L, and the Museum at the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College. Co-curator of the Taipei Biennial (2008) and Istanbul Biennial (2005). Curator of the UAE and Turkey pavilions at the Venice Biennale. Research and curatorial consultant at MATHAF: Arab Museum of Modern Art.

Alternate Jury Member Hristo Stankushev (Alternate Member) – Architect based in Sofia. Founder of 7561 architects and co-founder of dontDIY studio and the furniture brand Almost. Co-founder of Fragment Association, Toplocentrala Association, Urban Development Laboratory, and Team Sofia. Chief architect and assistant professor at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Sofia. His work has been published in Wallpaper, Dezeen, Frame, and A10.

project info:

name: Christo and Jeanne-Claude Centre for Contemporary Art
organizer: the Municipality of Gabrovo, Bulgaria

submission deadline:July 20, 2026