The European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe announced the first list of 449 projects competing for the 2022 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award. The majority of the 21 Belgian projects in this selection have an educational or cultural purpose.
The European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe announced the first list of 449 works (completed between October 2018 and October 2020) competing for the 2022 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture–Mies van der Rohe Award. These works will be joined in September with a new group of nominees finished between November 2020 and April 2021.
In the Belgian selection the most prominent programmes are educational and cultural. Some other important themes within the Belgian context are regeneration and import and export. A quarter of the total number of nominees have to do with regeneration, understood in its broadest sense and including transformations, restorations, rehabilitations, extensions and adaptive reuse. In Belgium, half the works tackle with the transformation of what already exists, creating mostly cultural and educational buildings but also changing office buildings into housing. Also notable is the fact that the countries in which most foreign offices have built have been Belgium with 7, France with 6, Germany with 6, and Austria with 4. All these works in France and Belgium have been the result of different types of competitions, while 4 of the 6 German ones and 3 of the 4 Austrian ones have also been the result of competitions, two of them from private promoters.
Initiated in 1987 the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award has been organised by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe and the European Commission since 2001.
The Prize is awarded biennially to works completed within the previous two years and exceptionally, this time, 2,5 years. The principal objectives are to achieve a thorough understanding of the transformation of Europe’s built environment; to recognize and commend excellence and innovation in the field of architecture; and to draw attention to the important contribution of European professionals in the development of new ideas with the undeniable support of clients and the involvement of those who will become the users of these places. All the works participating in the EU Mies Award are nominated by a hundred of European independent experts, the national architecture associations and the Prize Advisory Committee.
The Prize Winner receives 60.000€ and a sculpture that evokes the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion of Barcelona. The Emerging Architect Winner receives 20.000€ together with the sculpture; the finalists and the clients also receive a sculpture, recognizing their essential contribution to contemporary architecture.
The prestige of the Prize and the dissemination of the knowledge and savoir-faire of European architects is further enhanced with the organisation of exhibitions and debates worldwide, bringing architecture nearer to citizens
As a result of the international concern about the spread of the coronavirus, the EU Mies Award has adapted this edition’s calendar in order to include all the works and to ensure the safety, rigor and excellence of the evaluation of all the projects:
The Mies van der Rohe Award is made possible with the support of Creative Europe, the European Commission's framework programme for support to the cultural and audiovisual sectors. The programme aims at promoting Europe’s cultural diversity and rich heritage while enabling the cultural and creative sectors to reach their economic potential, contributing to sustainable growth, jobs and social cohesion.
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