On 16 April at 16:00 CET, the winners of the EUmies Awards 2026 – Architecture and Emerging – were announced from Oulu, the 2026 European Capital of Culture. For the first time, a Belgian project has received this prestigious award. The honour goes to Charleroi Palais des Expositions, a project by ajdvivgwA / architecten jan de vylder inge vinck / AgwA, in collaboration with the Charleroi City Architect and the City of Charleroi.
The project consists of the renovation of a 1950s convention centre, where the stripped-back central hall is transformed into a sequence of covered urban terraces. Carefully targeted interventions prioritise flexibility and circulation. Through demineralisation, the former black ground plane is converted into a continuous green park. The building as it was but never seen before.
The building explores the potential of this vast volume, situated on sloped terrain, while preserving its extraordinary qualities such as scale, rationality, and monumentality. The aim was to reassess the historical and heritage value of each part of the existing structure, to guide precise decisions on demolition, conservation, and renovation. Architectural interventions aim to be as undesigned as possible. Circulation is being rethought. The project literally invites public space, parking, and landscape to invade the building, while reconnecting the city center with its surroundings.
The EUmies Awards recognise how architecture across Europe is embracing innovation, sustainability, and long-term social impact. This year, the jury underlined the growing alignment between architecture, urban planning, and governance to meet the ambitions of the European Green Deal and to shape resilient, high-quality environments for all. “Freshness” emerged as a key theme, reflected in projects that bring new ideas and perspectives while thoughtfully transforming existing structures or proposing innovative new constructions.
The organisation of the EUmies Awards Architecture and Emerging 2026 started in May 2025 with the first contacts with experts and architectural associations. The jury, announced in October, met both online and in Barcelona to discuss all the nominated works and subsequently visited a selection of them in order to determine the winners.
The EUmies Awards Days will take place on 11 and 12 May 2026 in Barcelona, both at the Barcelona Pavilion and Palau Victòria Eugènia. The events will include:
All participating works are brought forward by the nominators which are the National Architecture Associations, Independent Experts and the Advisory Committee.
This group is composed by the national associations of architects and independent experts. See list of all nominators here
The jury of the EUmies Awards 2026, Architecture & Emerging category, is formed by chairman Smiljan Radić, Carl Bäckstrand, Chris Briffa, Zaiga Gaile, Tina Gregorič, Nikolaus Hirsch, and Rosa Rull.
Read more about the Jury here.
Combining emerging and established practices, the 40 works illustrate how creativity, responsibility, and contextual sensitivity continue to shape Europe’s architectural culture today.
Demonstrating the rich diversity of contemporary European architecture, the shortlisted selection spans 36 cities in 18 countries, from major metropolitan contexts to very small towns. Three Belgian projects stand out for their quality, typological diversity, and international appeal:
This broad representation illustrates the coming of age of Belgian architectural culture, which in recent years has shown increasing attention to renovation, circularity, and innovative urban dynamics.
The shortlist also highlights the importance of public investment, local engagement, and collaborative practice. Most works were designed by studios based in the same region, alongside transnational and transregional teams. In the case of CHAPEX, the City Architect of Charleroi and the City of Charleroi played a key role in the realisation of the project.
Architecture in Flanders and Brussels reflects a unique position in dealing with the existing built environment. As Found. Experiments in Preservation focuses on seven experimental approaches in preservation today: ensemble, void, reconfiguration, inside out, traces, mirror and nuance. These are explored through essays, realized projects and international references.
In spring 2020, the Flanders Architecture Institute is focusing on the link between Japan and Flanders/Brussels. RE-PRACTICE RE-VISIT RE-TURN from architecten de vylder vinck taillieuis the first exhibition of a season that has been given the baseline ‘Back from Japan’.
21 February 2020 - 14 June 2020
Flanders Architecture Institute,
DE SINGEL, Antwerp
architecten de vylder vinck taillieu were invited to Biennale Architettura 2018, curated by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, to present the project CARITAS as part of the general theme ‘FREESPACE’. On the occasion of the ‘UNLESS EVER PEOPLE / CARITAS FOR FREESPACE’ exhibition in the Central Pavilion the VAi published a book about the project. The exhibition won the Silver Lion 2018.
In 2016 Architect Jan De Vylder was curator of the exhibition BRAVOURE in the Belgian pavilion at the Biennale Archittetura in the theme of "craftmanship", commissioned by the VAi.
28 May 2016 - 27 November 2016
Belgium Pavilion
Biennale Archittetura, Venice (IT)
