This work investigates the process of creation and consolidation of a new imaginary for the São Cristóvão Gasworks, located in the port area of Rio de Janeiro, based on an international architecture competition organized for the area in 2000. A reflection is made over the activity of architects and urbanists that formulated the winning proposal, by retrieving the political, professional and academic environment that supports the competition, as well as its achievements and reverberations after the announcement of the final result. Based on the analysis of news, official documents and oral testimonies, this work aims to articulate the transformations observed in the São Cristóvão Gasworks to the distinct movements of modernization and crisis experienced in the metropolis of Rio de Janeiro, spanning from the inauguration of the gas plant (1911) to the ongoing urban renovation context created by the Porto Maravilha project. Further on, this analysis seeks to highlight the limits and possibilities of urban design projects when dealing with the will of preservation and/or renovation, as effects of a fruitful dialogue established between architects, government and market forces.