Mies van der Rohe Award 2022 shortlist revealed

The biannual European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award is named after modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

It is usually given by the European Union and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe to the best European architecture project completed within the past two years. However, the 2022 edition will feature works from the past 2.5 years as the coronavirus pandemic has delayed the award.

This year, the shortlisted works can be found in 18 different European countries. Austria, France and Spain have the most shortlisted projects – five each – followed by Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom, with three projects each.

Denmark, Finland, Poland and Portugal have two shortlisted works and the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania and Slovenia have one project each.

The shortlist was chosen by a jury consisting of architect Tatiana Bilbao, journalist and curator Francesca Ferguson, architect Mia Hägg, art historian Triin Ojari, architect Georg Pendl, former Thessaloniki deputy mayor Spiros Pengas and architect Marcel Smets.

Five finalists for the award will be announced on 16 February, with the architecture and emerging winners revealed in mid-April. The EU Mies Awards Day, when the awards ceremony will be held, will take place at the Mies van der Rohe Barcelona Pavilion in May.

Sustainability and inclusivity were among the things the jury looked at this year.

"One of the main elements in architectural sustainability is the long life of buildings," Smets said. "If we build new buildings, we must envision their next life, allow their next life."

"The pandemic has further changed our view on architecture and how we live. I personally think it is extremely important to highlight something whereby collective life is central and, maybe, where there is also some sense of local in it. Not only the global but also the local, because people have recently rediscovered the importance of their close environment."

Belgium:
› Gare Maritime, by Neutelings Riedijk Architects
› Melopee Multipurpose School Building, by Xaveer de Geyter Architects
› Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture by Francesco Torzo

Source: Mies van der Rohe Award 2022 shortlist revealed (dezeen.com)