Park Zone 3 - Space for Contemporary Art and Culture, Burgas | UNFORMED DESIGN

The proposal is grounded in the powerful presence of the void at the center of Burgas—an excavation that has existed for decades and has become deeply embedded in the city’s cultural memory and spatial identity. Rather than filling this absence, the project preserves and reinterprets it, transforming the “hole” into a public cultural landscape that reconnects the city with its own forgotten depth.

Selected as the 1st prize winner among 145 international entries in the Park Zone 3 international competition, the project proposes a new cultural park where architecture, landscape, and urban movement are intertwined. The design is structured around three interdependent layers that reinterpret the site while maintaining the legibility of the void.

The first layer is the descent, which reconnects the city to the sunken terrain. From Troikata Square, a geometrical garden forms a transitional landscape that extends the existing urban axis toward the site. Patterned gardens and wide staircases guide visitors gradually downward into the cultural level. From San Stefano Boulevard, a second descending approach creates another strong connection, allowing the site to become part of the city’s everyday circulation rather than a disconnected gap.

At the lowest level, the cultural ground is embedded entirely within the boundaries of the excavation. The architecture never rises above street level, preserving the visual continuity of the surrounding horizon while allowing the void itself to remain the dominant spatial gesture. Cultural functions—including exhibition spaces, educational areas, artists’ studios, and public gathering zones—are organized as a constellation of volumes placed within the terrain. Light wells, sunken courtyards, and large glazed openings bring daylight deep into the underground spaces while framing views of the exposed earth and vegetation, creating an atmosphere that emphasizes the experience of being within the ground rather than beneath it.

Only part of the excavation is occupied by architecture. The remaining surface becomes a lower-level park, an intimate landscape for outdoor events, exhibitions, and daily public use. Terraced planting and gently sloping paths ensure full accessibility while allowing the landscape to flow continuously between the upper city level and the cultural spaces below.

Above ground, a compact cubic volume positioned along San Stefano Boulevard forms the project’s only visible architectural element. With its restrained height and minimal footprint, the cube acts as a subtle urban marker that signals the presence of the cultural spaces below. Inside, it contains the main exhibition hall—a single uninterrupted volume with a clear internal height of ten meters—illuminated by an overhead skylight system and equipped with integrated blackout mechanisms for flexible programming. Administrative spaces are located on the upper level, while vertical circulation connects the cube directly to the sunken cultural ground.

The architectural language emphasizes material continuity with the site. The primary structure is based on reinforced concrete retaining walls and slab systems that stabilize the excavation while enabling flexible interior layouts. The cube is constructed using load-bearing reinforced concrete perimeter walls supporting long-span roof beams that define the exhibition hall. The exterior surfaces are conceived as rammed-concrete façades, expressing a layered tectonic texture that echoes the geological character of the excavated ground and reinforces the relationship between the underground and above-ground architecture.

Environmental performance is addressed through a combination of passive and active strategies. Natural daylight enters the cultural spaces through courtyards and skylights, while natural ventilation is enhanced through vertical voids and open landscape connections. A centralized HVAC system with zoned distribution serves the cultural, exhibition, and administrative areas. Rainwater collection supports landscape irrigation, and integrated lighting systems combine gallery-grade fixtures with ambient illumination to adapt the spaces to multiple cultural uses.

Through this layered approach, the project transforms a long-neglected void into a civic landscape where memory, nature, and contemporary culture converge. The descent reconnects the city to the ground, the sunken architecture activates the void as a cultural stage, and the cubic volume provides a clear yet restrained landmark within the urban fabric of Burgas.