Stallan-Brand with Ann Nisbet, O’DonnellBrown in collaboration with Stirling Prize-winning practice Mikhail Riches, and Collective Architecture are among the practices shortlisted to access the final phase of a competition run by Scottish Canals, Glasgow City Council, and C40 Cities.

This competition, launched a year ago as part of the C40 Reinventing Cities initiative, invites architects to reimagine neglected sites in 15 major cities worldwide. In Glasgow, the focus is on revitalising two locations near Scottish Canals’ head office at Applecross Street, Hamiltonhill. The project emphasises preserving heritage buildings while fostering a vibrant, sustainable neighborhood where people can live, work, and visit.

Competing teams were tasked with designing sustainable, mixed-use developments featuring active ground floors. Their proposals prioritise resilience, nature conservation, and the integration of mixed services and housing to support the local community.

Scottish Canals chief executive John Paterson expressed enthusiasm for the initiative: “We are excited to participate in the C40 Cities’ Reinventing Cities competition. Our vision is to create ‘better lives by water’. While significant progress has been made in revitalising north Glasgow—establishing new blue and green spaces, connecting communities, and improving public health—our work is not yet complete. We remain committed to transforming Glasgow’s canal corridor with resilient, zero-carbon developments, and we look forward to seeing the unique solutions emerging from this competition.”

The C40 Reinventing Cities initiative seeks to convert underutilised urban sites into innovative, zero-carbon, and resilient developments. Fifteen cities worldwide are participating in the global design and development challenge, including Almere, Bilbao, Bologna, Brussels, Glasgow, Milan, New York, Palermo, Renca, Rome, San Antonio, San Francisco, São Paulo, Seattle, and Venice.

The overall winner is set to be announced in 2026.

The shortlisted teams are

• Applecross Water with Home Group and CCG (Scotland)

Team Representative: Malcolm Murry, Director, CCG (Scotland)

Architects: Paul Stallan, Design Director, Stallan Brand Architecture and Design; Ann Nisbet, Founder and Director, Ann Nisbet

Environmental Expert: Andrew Money, Director, Carbon Futures Consultancy

• O’DonnellBrown & Mikhail Riches

Team Representative: Michael Dougall, Director, O’DonnellBrown

Architects: Annalie Riches, Director, Mikhail Riches; Becca Thomas, Creative Director, New Practice

Environmental Experts: Hannah Jones, Director, Greengauge Building Energy Consultants; Mhairi Grant, Director, Paper Igloo

• PfP-Igloo

Team Representative: David McGuide, Partner, Igloo Regeneration

Architect: Gerry Hogan, Director, Collective Architecture

Environmental Expert: Duncan McLean, LUC