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Oliver Wainwright on the 'elegant white steel and glass pavilion' crowned 2024 EU Mies van der Rohe Award winner

2024-04-30T11:48:00-04:00

A lightweight university study centre designed to be easily disassembled has won the prize for the best building in Europe. Longevity, permanence and a sense of immutability might be the ambition of most architects, but Gustav Düsing and Max Hacke would be delighted to see their building adapted and reconfigured, or ultimately dismantled and moved somewhere else altogether.

Wainwright reflects on the "impossibly slender" pavilion which was revealed as the winner of the 2024 EU Mies van der Rohe Award last week in an article that also includes the perspectives of the pavilion's architects, Gustav Düsing and Max Hacke.

Related on Archinect: University study pavilion wins the 2024 EU Mies van der Rohe Award with a reconfigurable design. Photo by Iwan Baan.

Located on the campus of the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany, the pavilion has been designed to allow for variations of student activities within a flexible layout, described by the award organizers as a "counter-model to spaces of hierarchical knowledge transfer."

Another winning aspect is the hybrid structure's ability to be disassembled and remounted. Individual components are capable of reuse in line with a principle called the "future material depot," which contributes to its role in the circular economy.

SLAS architekci designs colorful multifunctional public park in Poland

2023-07-07T15:06:00-04:00

Polish firm SLAS architekci has injected an eye-catching multifunctional public space into a university campus in the southern Polish city of Chorzów. Called “Activity Zone,” the project was a nominee in the 2022 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award.

Image © Michał Kopaniszyn

The park was completed in 2019 for the University of Silesia. It is located at the former site of a demolished military building where there were a number of pre-existing trees.

Image © Michał Kopaniszyn

The main goal of the project was to transform this neglected, wooded area where the campus is located into a lively, leisurely location for the public to enjoy. It aimed to promote the university and establish a new green space for the city.

Image © Michał Kopaniszyn

“Activity Zone” was designed as a perforated concrete platform that hosts a diverse program, including a student leisure zone, children’s play devices, fitness areas, individually des...

The Fundació Mies van der Rohe has launched a mobile app to browse nominated projects

2017-06-22T14:42:00-04:00

The Fundació Mies van der Rohe has launched an app so that anyone with a mobile phone can find on a map, and visit, the nominated works of this year's European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture. The app suggests routes for visiting the sites and even allows it's users to propose new ones. The cities of Berlin, London, Dublin, Paris and Barcelona, in addition to displaying the 2017 nominations, have also included works nominated in past editions of the award.

For Android, the app can be downloaded here.
and for iPhone, here.

DeFlatKleiburg wins 2017 Mies van der Rohe Award, MSA/V+ named 2017 Emerging Architect recipient

2017-05-12T14:46:00-04:00

Two housing projects won big today in the 2017 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award competition. Out of five finalists, DeFlatKleiburg in Amsterdam by NL Architects and XVW architectuur won the main Mies van der Rohe Award. The 2017 Emerging Architect prize went to Brussels-based practice MSA/V+ for the NAVEZ social housing project.

DeFlatKleiburg is the first renovation project of an existing building to receive the main prize. The colossal megablock is 11 stories tall and 400 meters long, and comprises 500 customizable apartments. First built in the 1960s as part of city planner Siegfried Nassuth's masterplan, the Kleiburg eventually became dilapidated and was at risk for demolition. Protests in recent years prompted a competition seeking the most economically feasible solution to save the structure.

Photo © Marcel van der Burg.

Dutch firms NL Architects and XVW architectuur won the competition with their proposal to renovate the existing buil...

Finalists Announced for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture—Mies van der Rohe Award

2017-02-15T12:51:00-05:00

The European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe have revealed the five finalists for the 2017 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture — Mies van der Rohe Award. The Award, the official architecture prize of the EU, comes with €60,000.

This year’s finalists are:

Name of work: deFlatKleiburg, Amsterdam, NL

Offices: NL Architects and XVW architectuur, Amsterdam

Authors: Walter van Dijk(NL) and Xander Vermeulen Windsant (NL)

Name of work: Ely Court, London, UK

Office: Alison Brooks Architects, London

Authors: Alison Brooks (UK)

Name of work: Kannikegården, Ribe, DK

Office: Lundgaard&Tranberg Architects, Copenhagen

Authors: LeneTranberg (DK) and BojeLundgaard (DK)

Name of work: Katyn Museum, Warsaw, PL

Office: BBGK Architekci, Warsaw

Authors: Jan Belina-Brzozowski (PL) and Konrad Grabowiecki(PL)

Name of work: Rivesaltes Memorial Museum, Rivesaltes/Ribesaltes, FR

Office: Rudy Ricciotti, Bandol

Author: Rudy Ricciotti(FR)

The 40 Shortlisted Projects Announced for the EUmiesaward

2017-01-30T13:25:00-05:00

The European Commission and the Funació Mies van der Rohe have announced the 40 shortlisted works for the 2017 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture—the Mies Van der Rohe Award, also known as the EUmiesaward.

Selected from a pool of 355 nominations, the 40 shortlisted projects reflect “the importance of the new generation of architects who have come strongly to the fore in this edition to show how architecture addresses and provides solutions for a broad diversity of issues related to the city and society, to housing, to cultural facilities, to memory and identity, to refurbishment or new buildings, in a convocation that echoes this diversity more than ever,” according Daniel Mòdol, President of the Funació Mies van der Rohe.

As stated in the press release, a third of the works “tackles the contemporary challenges of housing” and another third “tackles the challenge of contemporary architecture in relationship with built heritage.” The five finalists will be announced in ...

Philharmonic Hall of Szczecin scoops up the 2015 Mies van der Rohe Award

2015-05-11T18:47:00-04:00

During a ceremony recently held at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, the European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe officially announced the Philharmonic Hall of Szczecin as the 2015 recipient of the biennial European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award. The 2015 edition first rounded up 420 projects down to 40. Then, the jury selected five finalists to compete for the high-ranking €60,000 award.

Completed in 2014 after three years, the Philharmonic Hall replaced the former WWII-era Konzerthaus in Szczecin, Poland. Barcelona-based firm Barozzi / Veiga designed the 3.800 m² geometric structure with a symphony hall that accommodates 1,000 spectators, a chamber music hall for 200 spectators, a multifunctional exhibition + conference space, and a wide foyer that's spacious enough for also hosting events. To add to that, the hall received a nomination in the Design Museum's popular 2015 Designs of the Year.

The five 2015 Mies van der Rohe Award finalists are revealed

2015-02-25T18:15:00-05:00

From 420 to 40 and now the final five. The European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe announced the finalists of the 2015 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award today in London. Initiated in 1987, the biennial €60,000 prize is one of the highest-ranking prizes in European architecture for projects less than 2 years old.

The award highlights recent projects that best represent the prize's mission to foster design and technological innovation as well as noteworthy contributions from architects across the continent. Previous grand-prize winners include familiar names like David Chipperfield Architects, SNØHETTA, Zaha Hadid, OMA, Nicholas Grimshaw, Peter Zumthor, Dominique Perrault, Foster + Partners, Álvaro Siza Vieira, and Henning Larsen Architects.

The five contenders are:

↓ Ravensburg Art Museum in Ravensburg, Germany by Lederer Ragnarsdóttir Oei
Authors: Arno Lederer IC), Jórunn Ragnarsdóttir, and Marc Oei (DE)

↓ Danish Maritime Museum i...

The 2015 Mies van der Rohe Award shortlists 40 projects

2015-02-10T20:16:00-05:00

Out of a competitive pool of 420 projects that were nominated back in December, 40 of them were shortlisted for the 2015 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award. The biennial €60,000 prize was initiated by the European Commission and the Barcelona City Hall in 1987 and is considered to be the highest-ranking award in contemporary European architecture.

The selected projects, which must have been completed within the last two years, are regarded as models of architectural and technological innovation in European architecture. The awards program also acknowledges the significant contributions and the evolving creative process of present-day architects working throughout the continent.

↑ Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, The Netherlands by Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos.

↑ Danish Maritime Museum in Helsingør, Denmark by BIG

↑ Marseille Vieux Port in Marseille, France by Foster + Partners

↑ De Rotterdam in Rotterdam, The Netherlands by OMA

↑ Everyman Theatre in Liverpoo...

The European Mies van der Rohe Award rounds up 420 nominated projects for 2015

2014-12-17T19:27:00-05:00

A total of 420 projects across Europe were nominated to compete for the 2015 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award, regarded as the highest-ranking prize in European architecture for projects less than 2 years old. The biennial €60,000 prize was initiated in 1987 by the European Commission and the Barcelona City Hall to highlight recent projects that are exemplary of the prize's mission to foster design and technological innovation as well as noteworthy contributions from architects across the continent. The prize also gives an outlook of the evolving creative process of present-day architects working in Europe.

With 420 nominees, perhaps it's still too early to predict which projects will get shortlisted and then become finalists by the end of January 2015.

A few of the 2015 nominees include:

Spots - a conversion of former transformation stations in Košice, Slovakia by Architektonické štúdio Atrium

Hideg House in Kőszeg, Hungary by Béres Architect...

Harpa Wins 2013 EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award

2013-04-30T13:37:00-04:00

The European Commission and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation have announced Harpa, the Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Center in Iceland, as the winner of the 2013 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award.

The 'Emerging Architect Special Mention' award goes to María Langarita and Víctor Navarro for the Nave de Música Matadero (Red Bull Music Academy) in Madrid, Spain.

Previously: Five Finalists for 2013 EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award

Five Finalists for 2013 EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award

2013-01-31T14:22:00-05:00

Five finalist projects have been announced by the European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe in the run for the coveted 2013 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award.

UPDATE: Harpa Wins 2013 EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award

Chipperfield's Neues Museum renovation snags Mies van der Rohe award

2011-04-11T18:26:50-04:00

David Chipperfield’s revamp of the Neues Museum in Berlin has won the 2011 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – the Mies van der Rohe Award.

BDonline broke the news that architect David Chipperfield has received the Mies van der Rohe award for his working on the restoration of the Neues Museum in Berlin: a cash prize of 60,000€. The 2011 jury included Mohsen Mostafavi, Ole Bouman, Annette Gigon, Yvonne Farrell, Zhu Pei and Tarald Lundevall.

"The rebuilding of the Neues Museum is an extraordinary achievement. Rarely have an architect and client succeeded in undertaking a work of such historic importance and complexity; especially one that involves both preservation and new building. The project raises and addresses many aesthetic, ethical, and technical issues. It is an exemplary demonstration of what collaboration can achieve in the context of contemporary European architectural practice." --Mohsen Mostafavi

Previous winners of the awards include Norwegian National Opera & Ballet by SNØHETTA, Contemporary Art Museum of Castilla y León by Mansilla+Tuñón Arquitectos and Netherlands Embassy Berlin by Rem Koolhaas and El...