Belgian Architecture

The Fundació Mies van der Rohe and the European Commission have announced the winners of the 2026 edition of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Awards, selected from a total of 410 nominated works. The 2026 Architecture Prize goes to the renovation of the Charleroi Palais des Expositions in Belgium by AgwA and architecten jan de vylder inge vinck, while the Emerging Architecture Prize is awarded to Temporary Spaces for the Slovenian National Theatre Drama in Ljubljana by Vidic Grohar Arhitekti. The announcement was made in Oulu, European Capital of Culture 2026, at the Aalto Siilo, a landmark of industrial architecture designed by Alvar Aalto in 1931.

In recent years, earthen construction has gained renewed attention in architecture. Materials such as adobe, rammed earth, and compressed earth blocks, once mainly associated with vernacular traditions, are increasingly being explored by contemporary architects. Rather than representing a simple return to the past, this renewed interest reflects a broader reconsideration of how architecture engages with materials, local resources, and environmental conditions.

Heritage sites constitute complex spatial archives in which architecture, history, and collective memory converge. They encompass a wide spectrum of contexts—from archaeological remains, ancient and historic townscapes, UNESCO-listed landscapes, to early modern civic structures and industrial infrastructures. Yet these environments confront challenges: climate change, urban transformation, disaster, shifting social needs, and the gradual erosion of material fabric. Revitalization and restoration projects respond to these conditions by positioning architectural and spatial practice as an active mediator between preservation and the contemporary topologies.

The European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe have announced the seven finalist projects for the 2026 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Awards, supported by the European Union's Creative Europe programme. The selection follows the announcement of 410 nominated works in November and a shortlist of 40 projects revealed in early January. Of the seven finalists, five have been selected in the Architecture category and two in the Emerging category. According to the jury chaired by Smiljan Radić, the finalist projects are exemplary contributions to the future of European architecture, demonstrating how the discipline can respond simultaneously to specific local conditions and broader social, cultural, and environmental challenges. The selected works range from interventions in former industrial sites, small villages, and peripheral urban areas to carefully calibrated projects within larger cities. Across these varied contexts, the projects show how architecture can transform overlooked or ordinary settings into inclusive, high-quality spaces for living, learning, and social exchange.

Every architectural project is the result of deliberate choices. Beyond form and function, buildings embody technical, political, and cultural decisions that shape their relationship with both their surroundings and the people who inhabit them. ArchDaily’s AD Narratives series explores these processes by bringing together accounts that trace projects from initial conception to built realization. In parallel, the AD Classics series turns to works of historical significance, presenting not only the stories behind these buildings but also technical drawings that allow for a deeper, more informed reading of their architecture.

Adaptive reuse is shifting from simple preservation to active revitalization, a process of structurally rescuing and reprogramming architectural typologies whose original functions are no longer relevant. The obsolescence of architectural spaces occurs for varied reasons: sociological shifts, leaving spaces uninhabited; technological advances, phasing out specific machinery; and economic changes, making centralized functions necessary. The strategy of repurposing focuses on achieving spatial and functional longevity through minimal interventions, allowing the original structure to serve as the memory anchor of the project.

The second round of award winners of the 2025 World Architecture Festival (WAF) has been announced, following Day Two of the world's largest international live-judged architectural event, held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Florida.

Photographer Marc Goodwin has extended his Atlas of Architectural Atmospheres to Belgium, capturing the workspaces of architecture studios in Antwerp, Brussels, and Ghent. The series includes large offices such as B-architecten, POLO, and Binst Architects, alongside smaller-scale practices like Studio Okami, Stand Van Zaken, and Bruno Spaas Architectuur. Many of them occupy buildings with layered pasts from former workshops, to cinemas, and from storage facilities, to waterfront structures.

Videos

The Belgian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 presents a prototype that integrates landscape architecture into architectural interiors. Designed by Bas Smets in collaboration with Stefano Mancuso, the exhibition transforms the pavilion into a microclimate modeled after the understory of a subtropical forest, creating an indoor jungle that actively regulates temperature and humidity. The curatorial concept, supported by the Flanders Architecture Institute and its director, Dennis Pohl, promotes landscape thinking as an active design force rather than exterior decoration. In this video interview from Venice, Bas Smets and Dennis Pohl explain to ArchDaily editors how the project positions architecture as a platform for climate resilience and proposes a shift in design paradigms, from static images to evolving, living processes.