Five finalist projects have been shortlisted for the 2019 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, an award given jointly by the European Commission and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation. The biennial prize, for which ArchDaily is a media partner, recognizes the Europe-located projects that demonstrate excellence in "conceptual, social, cultural, technical, and constructive terms."
The five shortlisted projects are located in Albania, Belgium, France, Germany, and Spain, a spread of locations drawn from a long list that included works located in 17 European countries. Of the 40 projects in the original long list, the five shortlisted projects include works in the health, culture, masterplan, mixed-use, and collective housing categories.
Said prize coordinator Ivan Blasi in January of the original longlist: “The 2019 nominees highlight metropolitan areas as the location of most of the works, but the map also reveals the generation of axes such as the Dublin-Brussels-Ljubljana-Tirana one, where 100 million Europeans live and a third of the total number of nominated works have been built."
In April, the Prize jury will visit the five shortlisted works in order to determine both the Prize Winner and Emerging Architect Winner. These awards will be announced at the end of April, to be followed by an award ceremony that will take place at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona on 07 May 2019.
The five shortlisted projects for the 2019 EU Mies Prize, alphabetically by location:
Skanderbeg Square / 51N4E; Anri Sala; Plant en Houtgoed and iRI
Tirana, Albania
EU Mies Prize citation: "Skanderbeg Square—in its 2008 state—inspired a sense of awe, and possessed a certain indefinition that created a feeling of openness. The design reorganizes the vast ex-communist space in a simple yet radical manner, opening it up to new ways of reading."
PC CARITAS / architecten de vylder vinck tailleu
Melle, Belgium
EU Mies Prize citation: "What if a built environment that has lost its meaning and purpose and what if that building is not to be refurbished towards another program or functionality and so by that is expected to be demolished…what if the building is just kept and prepared to become an experimental space to re-discover and -explore and -define possible other ways of life."
Transformation of 530 dwellings - Grand Parc Bordeaux / Lacaton & Vassal; Frédéric Druot Architecture and Christophe Hutin Architecture
Bordeaux, France
EU Mies Prize citation: "The project consists in the transformation of 3 social housing’s buildings of 530 dwellings. Built in the early 60s, they needed a renovation after their demolition has been ruled out. The transformation of the dwellings full occupied, starts from the interior, to give them new qualities: more space, more light, more view, and upgrade the facilities."
Terrassenhaus Berlin / Brandlhuber+ Emde, Burlon; Muck Petzet Architekten
Berlin, Germany
.jpg?1549985924 "Terrassenhaus Berlin / Brandlhuber + Emde, Burlon + Muck Petzet. Image © Erica Overmeer")
EU Mies Prize citation: "The Terrassenhaus Berlin, located in Berlin-Wedding, is a multi-use atelier and gallery building that combines different forms of usage."
Plasencia Auditorium and Congress Centre / selgascano
Plasencia, Spain
EU Mies Prize citation: "The centre is on the boundary between the town and the country, in outskirts of Plasencia, the edge between what has been touched by a less artificial humanity and what has been touched by millennia of climate. What has been touched by humanity has covered up those millennia with the sweep of a trowel in a few years."
Shortlisted Projects Announced for the EU Mies Award 2019
The European Commission and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation have announced the 40shortlisted works that will compete for the 2019 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award. The Prize, for which ArchDaily is a media partner, has seen a jury distill 383 nominated works into a 40-project-strong shortlist, celebrating the trends and opportunities in adaptive reuse, housing, and culture across Europe.
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