Florence Hills
Dezeen Competitions: the Florence Hills competition by TerraViva calls for designers to submit proposals that adapt ruins in Tuscany, Italy, into a luxury residence.
Designers should transform the ruins of Podere Santa Margherita – a 19th-century traditional farmhouse – while honouring its history and legacy.
This competition is now closed
Organiser: TerraViva
Competition: Florence Hills
Judges:
– Giancarlo Mazzanti, founder of El Equipo Mazzanti
– Anastasia Kucherova, project leader at Stefano Boeri Architetti
– Gregory Kahn Melitonov, senior architect at Taller KEN
– Nathalie Rozencwajg, founder of NAME Architecture
– Charles Tashima, founder of Studio Tashima
– Martina Mitrović, senior architect at Vincenzo De Cotiis
– Mario Gentile, founder of Shiftspace
– Agnese Mazzei, founder of Agnese Mazzei Architetti
Submission deadline: 29 August for phase one and 6 October for phase two
Winner announcement: 27 October 2025
Prizes: the first prize is €10,000 and four additional finalists will receive €3,000 each. Ten golden mentions will each receive a coupon for a free Terraviva membership and ten honourable mentions will receive a coupon for a free Terraviva competition. The top 30 submissions will be published on Terraviva channels
Competition overview
Structured in two phases, the Florence Hills competition calls for the adaptive reuse of the ruins of Podere Santa Margherita. Designers are encouraged to submit proposals that honour the ruin’s historical legacy while breathing new life into the site.
The competition asks for proposals to focus on three main targets: the manor house, the rustico, the garden and outdoor areas.
The Florence Hills competition aims to transform this unique complex into a contemporary luxury residence, which will be inhabited by the site’s owner for a few weeks and rented out to guests during the rest of the year.
Phase one will focus on the collection of preliminary proposals with the aim of identifying the finalist teams. Phase two will see the five best projects compete for the first prize, further deepening the level of detail of their respective proposals.
Eligibility and judging criteria
The competition is open to architects, landscape designers, interior designers, students, engineers, artists, makers and anyone interested in the fields of architecture and design.
Participants can join the competition either individually or with a team.
The jury will evaluate all the proposals according to the following principles:
– originality of the concept
– integration with the rural context
– effectiveness in the adaptive reuse
– innovative interior design solutions
– landscape design
– creative approach to luxury hospitality
– graphic representation
How to enter
The registration and submission procedure must be done online.
For phase one, participants should submit two A1 panels and a brief text describing the proposal. Phase two requires four A1 panels and a technical report with texts and images.
The panels must contain all the necessary visual information to explain the project.
Panels and text file must not contain any other reference to the identity of the participants, including their name, office and university.
Submission deadlines
The submission deadline is 29 August for phase one and 6 October for phase two. Winners will be announced on 27 October 2025.
About TerraViva
TerraViva is a platform dedicated to the organisation of international architecture and design competitions.
The organisation connects talented designers around the world with partners and stakeholders looking for high-quality projects to rehabilitate a building, redesign an urban plot, or transform an entire district.
In addition to the organisation’s focus on architecture, it also works on graphic design contests, providing the ideal platform for international creatives to showcase their visual communication skills and contribute to innovative projects.
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