The European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe are proud to announce the 40 shortlisted works that will compete in the 2019 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award.
383 works were nominated for the award and the expert Jury drew up a shortlist of 40. Find more about the 40 works here.
The shortlisted works are spread out in 17 different European countries. France has 7 shortlisted works (Bordeaux, Freyming-Merlebach, Montataire, Montbrun-Bocage, Nantes and two in Paris); 6 are in Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, Matarranya, Plasencia, Sant Ferran de ses Roques and Ullastret); 4 in Belgium (Melle, Ternat and 2 in Ghent); 3 in Austria (Innsbruck and 2 in Vienna); 3 in Denmark (Billund, Hammershus and Viborg,); 2 in Germany (both in Berlin), 2 in Ireland (Dublin and Kilkenny); 2 in Italy (Arezzo and Venice); 2 in the Netherlands (Arnhem and Leeuwarden); 2 in Romania (Bucharest). The countries with one shortlisted work are Albania (Tirana), Estonia (Laulasmaa), Finland (Helsinki), Poland (Katowice), Portugal (Lisbon), Serbia (Belgrade) and Slovakia (Bratislava).
The jury met over three days in Barcelona to discuss the most relevant challenges that European contemporary society and its architecture are facing. Some of the topics that came up were the high number of works that tackle with existing constructions; the importance that collective housing continues to have throughout Europe; the need to plan and organise the territory; and the importance of culture as a programme but also the importance of architectural culture.
Dorte Mandrup, Founder and Creative Director of Dorte Mandrup and Chairwoman of the Jury said,
“The 40 works highlight a new agenda that asks for new ways of thinking. Excellence and skilfulness are inherent in all of them, but this is not enough; it is necessary that they also make an impact and make architects themselves think differently about the profession. It is very refreshing to see how the architectural debate moves around Europe, changing its centre of discussion from one place to another over the years. This keeps architecture alive.”
Angelika Fitz , Director of the Architekturzentrum Wien & member of the jury said,
“More and more people see, feel and experience that architecture is not anymore about self referentiality, about doing the most chic and shiny. Instead, it is really about improving our lives and the way we live together.”
Ștefan Ghenciulescu, Editor-in-chief of “Zeppelin” co-founder of “Zeppelin Association” and Jury member said,
“The crisis has been like a warning but also an incentive to do more with less: more architecture with less material, less costs, etc. It is an evolution that we can see in the scale of the nominated projects, but we must also be aware of the ecological crisis and change the way we are living on the planet. This is not just about technology, materials, or insulating. It is really about how you plan and organise the territory.”
The five finalists will be announced on February 13 and the Award Ceremony will take place on 7 May 2019 at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona. Save the date for the lectures, debates, exhibition opening and celebration that will take place with the Jury members, Winners, Finalists, Clients and other guests and representatives. The 5 Finalist buildings and the Emerging Architect Winner work will be open to the public so that everybody can learn more about them in presence of their authors and critics, who will highlight their qualities.