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.

Read more about the building below:

"The building is configured by a synthetic, but at the same time complex volume, which is resolved through a continuous promenade, which connects all these functions along a single public path through all the levels of the building. Externally, as in the adjacent pre-existence, the verticality and geometry of the roof prevail. These characteristics identify the Philharmonic Hall with its surrounding context."

"The plan composition is defined by a perimetral ring. This element mostly hosts service spaces. On the one hand this allows to define a large void within which gravitate the symphony hall and the hall for chamber music, on the other hand to shape the relationship of the building with its surroundings.

The serial modulation of the roof represents the only other expressive element, that permits the integration of the building within the fragmented urban profile of the city. In its materiality, the building is perceived as a light element: the glass facade, illuminated from inside, depending on the use allows different perceptions. The exterior austerity and the simple composition of the interior circulation spaces contrast with the expressiveness of the main hall."

"In accordance with the central European tradition of the classical concert halls, decoration becomes ornament and function. The hall is composed following a Fibonacci sequence whose fragmentation increases with the distance from the scene, and gives shape to an ornamental space which reminds of the classical tradition through its gold-leaf covering."

"The building predominantly adopts passive systems of energetic control. The main element is the double skin façade channeling a large part of the installation system to provide a global acoustic insulation and a natural ventilation to avoid overheating. Illuminated by a LED system, it turns the building in a glowing volume with a minimum energy consumption. The roof cladding is a multilayered pack, with differences over the concert hall than other zones, to optimize acoustics and thermal insulation."

As one of the highest-ranking European architecture awards, the Mies van der Rohe Award highlights projects less than 2 years old that best represent the prize's mission of design and technological innovation. Previous winners include the Harpa, the Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Center in Iceland; the Neues Museum in Berlin, Germany by David Chipperfield Architects + Julian Harra; and SNØHETTA's Norwegian National Opera & Ballet in Oslo, Norway.

2015 Jury
Practicing architects:

• Cino Zucchi, Chair of the Jury Principle, Cino Zucchi Architetti, Milan
• Margarita Jover Principle, aldayjover architecture and landscape, Charlottesville and Barcelona
• Lene Tranberg Principle, Lundgaard & Tranberg, Copenhagen
• Peter L. Wilson Principle, Bolles + Wilson, Münster

Architecture Critic:  Li Xiangning - Deputy Dean, College of Architecture & Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai

Architecture Critic and Representative of the Prize Steering Committee: Tony Chapman - Head of Awards at RIBA, London

Upholder of high quality architecture as a Client: Hansjörg Mölk - CEO MPreis, Völs, Tirol

Secretary of the Jury (without the right to vote): Giovanna Carnevali - Director Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona

Coordinator of the Prize (without the right to vote): Ivan Blasi Architect