MVRDV, Heatherwick, and Mecanoo among finalists to design landmark for climate action – Announcements

Five teams put forth a vision for a major sustainable landmark to inspire large-scale behavioral change.

Shift, a Dutch social enterprise dedicated to sparking climate action, has announced the five teams advancing to the second stage of its international architecture competition. Launched in January with a prize pool of 250,000 EUR, it seeks to create a major landmark that will act as a catalyst for large-scale behavioral change in response to the climate crisis.

The goal is bold: to design a new world wonder that shifts perspectives and inspires millions of visitors to accelerate the transition to a sustainable future. Beyond its physical form, the landmark will house immersive exhibitions that highlight the human stories driving environmental transformation—offering visitors experiences rooted in hope and urgency.

Fierce competition
Eighty teams from around the globe submitted proposals. Three were selected by a diverse jury consisting of eleven experts from fields of architecture, impact investing and the cultural sector. Together, they decided to award places in the second stage of the competition to Mecanoo, MVRDV and Office for Political Innovation. 

Together with these three firms, two additional finalists had been preselected ahead of the open call: Heatherwick Studio and Ecosistema Urbano, to signal the range and caliber of the interested teams to municipalities Shift has been in discussion with for the location for the landmark.

Next steps
The five finalists will receive 40,000 EUR to further develop their proposal in phase two of the competition, starting later this year.

The winning design will receive an additional 50,000 EUR and will be realized as the first Shift Landmark, to be built in the Netherlands, where 55 percent of the land is at risk of flooding due to rising sea levels and river flooding. 

Juror Ben van Berkel, founder of UNS, shared: “Architecture today must do more than solve problems—it must spark imagination, shift behavior, and foster new forms of community. The five selected proposals each do this in their own way. They challenge conventions, embrace complexity, and show how design can become a catalyst for systemic change. This is the kind of thinking our future demands.”

Carice van Houten, juror, actress and environmental activist, added: “Real change doesn’t happen in isolation—it happens in community. What excites me about these finalist designs is that they go beyond sustainability checklists. They invite people in and create space for connection, reflection, and shared responsibility. We need places like that—places that bring people together and remind us what we’re fighting for.”

Shift founder Don Ritzen sees the competition as a pivotal moment: “Architecture is one of the few mediums capable of translating global challenges into an inspiring and immersive experience. The finalist teams show what’s possible when design meets purpose. Each concept has the potential to spark millions of ‘satori moments’—personal awakenings that can fuel real-world change.”

The competition advisor is DVDL, a New York-based agency of cultural planners working on visitor experience, placemaking, cultural strategy in North America, Europe and the Middle East.

To follow the competition or learn more about Shift’s mission, visit competition.shift.world.