New architecture and design competitions: Exploring 130 Years of American Design, Christo & Jeanne-Claude Center, 13 White Houses, and La Pyramide

For this week’s curated picks of architecture and design competitions listed on Bustler, we are featuring four calls seeking proposals using Van Alen Institute’s archive that provoke reflection on the progression of design access, ideas for the adaptive reuse of a former textile technical school building into the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center for Contemporary Art in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, speculative architectural propositions that reconsider the White House as a civic and spatial instrument, and concepts for the revitalization of La Pyramide in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

For the complete directory of newly listed competitions, click here.

1965 Paris Prize competition entry: Patrick Leamy. Image credit: Van Alen Institute

Open Access: Exploring 130 Years of American Design
Registration/Submission Deadline: Sunday, June 28, 2026

“For the Fall 2026 exhibition Open Access: Exploring 130 Years of American Design, Van Alen invites emerging designers and creatives to delve into the accessible portions of our archive and respond to its material through the lens of open and fair access. We seek proposals that provoke reflection on the progression of design access, and position the archive as living material—something to be questioned, reinterpreted, and held accountable to the present. Projects may respond to specific archival materials or engage more thematically, and may use a wide range of creative approaches and mediums.”

Image courtesy Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center for Contemporary Art

International Architectural Competition for the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center in Gabrovo, Bulgaria
Registration Deadline: Friday, July 17, 2026
Submission Deadline: Monday, July 20, 2026

“To find the best architectural solution for the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center for Contemporary Art, the Municipality of Gabrovo is inviting architects to participate in a two-stage competition for adaptive reuse of a former textile technical school building.
The first phase is an open, anonymous competition to develop a conceptual design. The top five finalists will each receive a cash prize of EUR 20,000, excluding VAT. The application deadline is 20 July 2026.
The second phase requires design development and will be conducted through a negotiated procedure without prior publication with the five finalists from the preceding phase. The timeframe for developing the designs is two months. The winner will enter into a design contract worth up to EUR 1,000,000, excluding VAT.”

The South Portico of the White House, 1950. Image credit: Abbie Rowe / Courtesy of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum

Open Call: 13 White Houses
Registration/Submission Deadline: Sunday, August 2, 2026

“The exhibition is organized around thirteen speculative architectural propositions that reconsider the White House as a civic and spatial instrument. A group of international practices will be commissioned to produce new work, supplemented by additional participants selected through this open call. Realized as models and drawings, these projects examine the White House and its grounds as a site of ongoing negotiation—between governance and representation, permanence and revision, authority and public life. Together, invited and selected practices will constitute the thirteen White Houses that form the exhibition’s core.”

La Pyramide Architecture Competition
Registration/Submission Deadline: Monday, August 31, 2026

“The objective is to repurpose La Pyramide to make it habitable, transforming a celebrated but empty monument into a functional, living part of the city.
The design should:
Make it Habitable:
Propose a program that breathes life back into the Building.
Respect the Existing Structure:
The primary task is the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the existing Structure. Any changes in the form should be justified by your conceptual approach to the building’s new life.
Social & Urban Integration:
Design a project that bridges the gap between the formal business district of Le Plateau and the vibrant life of Abidjan.”

Would you like to contribute competitions, award programs, or calls for submissions that aren’t listed on Bustler yet? Send them directly to our team to review. We may include them in our next roundup.