New Reinventing Cities Competitions are Now Open

Competitions open in Bologna, Bilbao, and Belo Horizonte

Earlier this year, we announced our partnership with C40 Cities — a new chapter for the Foundation, focused on translating design excellence into built impact in cities.

Last updated: May 19, 2026 Zurich, Switzerland

We are inviting architects, planners, engineers, developers and investors in our community to participate in the new round of C40 Reinventing Cities competitions, just launched in three cities: Bologna (Italy), Bilbao Metropolitan / Portugalete (Spain), and Belo Horizonte (Brazil). Four urban sites are now open for proposals from professional multidisciplinary teams worldwide.

C40 Reinventing Cities Competitions

What is C40 Reinventing Cities?

C40 Reinventing Cities competitions challenge the private sector to reimagine underutilised urban land — and to build what they propose. Cities identify strategic sites, teams compete with proposals, and the winner walks away with a real development mandate. Since its launch, the programme has mobilised 5,000+ businesses across 30+ cities, with 40 projects currently under development globally.

The Four New Sites

Each city will host a local launch event presenting the site vision and competition requirements in full.

  • Bologna, Italy — two sites

    The former STAMOTO Barracks and the Via Mattei 106 printing complex, both focused on social housing delivery and urban greening in a city already committed to climate transformation.

  • Bilbao Metropolitan / Portugalete, Spain

    A former municipal food market in the city centre, with heritage value to preserve and local economic development to support. The city will co-invest alongside the winning team.

  • Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    A former landfill in a densely populated neighbourhood, envisioned as a new urban park bringing climate-resilient public space to a community that urgently needs it.

Why this Matters

Our cities already hold much of what we need to build a better future — existing buildings, materials, land and infrastructure that too often go underutilised. The Reinventing Cities competition embodies exactly the reuse and renewal mindset we believe must become the norm: treating vacant and overlooked urban spaces not as problems, but as opportunities for circular, low-carbon and resilient development. Laura Viscovich Executive Director, Holcim Foundation

The competition's evaluation criteria reflect the values that have always guided our community: environmental ambition, design innovation, economic feasibility and tangible benefit for local citizens.

Who Should Apply

This competition is designed for professional multidisciplinary teams. If you are an architect, urban planner, engineer, developer, investor or community organisation — or if you can bring together a team that spans those disciplines — we strongly encourage you to explore the open sites.

Interdisciplinary and international collaborations are welcome. All teams must have the financial capacity to implement the project, with at least one developer or investor as part of the team.

Reinventing Cities is a C40 initiative supported by the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction.

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