24 June – 20 September 2010
The Mies van der Rohe Award, one of the most important and prestigious prizes for architecture in Europe, is a collaboration between the European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe – Barcelona. Every two years projects are nominated and total prizes are awarded of €80,000 (First Prize: €60,000, Special Mention prize: €20,000).
The principal objective is to recognise and commend excellence in the field of architecture within the European Union. The Award aims to promote the profession, encourage architects working throughout the entire European Union and support young architects as they embark on their careers. Both prizes – First Prize and the Special Mention prize – are awarded for an exceptional conceptual, technical and structural achievement.
Five finalists, visited by the jury, were selected from the 340 projects nominated by experts from all over Europe – the distinguished jury was finally convinced by the Norwegian architects Snøhetta with the Oslo Opera House. The Emerging Architect Special Mention went to the architects Studio Up for the Gymnasium 46°09'N / 16°50'E in Koprivnica, Croatia. The touring exhibition of around 50 projects is augmented by a presentation of the 14 Austrian projects nominated.
The winner:
Norwegian National Opera & Ballet Oslo, Norway
Architects: Snøhetta / Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, Tarald Lundevall, Craig Dykers
The new building for the opera and ballet is a very important element in the transformation of the bay area of Oslo with the objective of reconnecting the city with its waterfront. In addition to providing the city with an opera and ballet house of the highest international standards, the marble-clad roofscape is both a new civic landmark as well as an architectural landscape that is open to the public. The interior is composed of a sequence of differentiated spaces characterised by carefully chosen materials and the integration of the works of several artists.
Kjetil Trædal Thorsen (born 1958 in Haugesund, Norway, diploma: Technische Universitat Graz), Tarald Lundevall (born 1948 in Oslo, diploma: Arkitektur og designhøgskolen i Oslo) and Craig Dykers (born 1961 in Frankfurt, diploma: University of Texas at Austin) are partners and directors of Snøhetta, an architectural practice established in 1989 in Oslo. Their major works include the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt; the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin and the INMED Institute of Neurobiology in Marseille, France.
Emerging Architect Special Mention:
Gymnasium 46°09’N/16°50E Koprivnica, Croatia
Architects: Studio Up / Lea Pelivan, Toma Plejic
The mixed-use programme for this project includes a sports hall as well as a high school. The spatial and visual overlapping of the facilities was the basis of the design concept and the spacious interior street organises and connects all the programmatic elements. A system of shutters above the sports hall and the ducts through the cantilevered classrooms of the top floor ensure a constant flow of cool air during the summer months while the double polycarbonate skin creates a ‘green house effect’ in winter. The building transforms the suburban periphery of Koprivnica by creating a landmark and an emblematic place for the young people of the town.
Lea Pelivan (Born in Split, Croatia in 1976) and Toma Plejic (Born in Riijeka, Croatia in 1977) both received their architecture diplomas in 2001 from the University of Zagreb where they established their professional practice in 2003. Their most important projects include: Frameworks (Site-specific project for the 2004 Biennale di Venezia), the P10 Mixed-Use Building, Split and the Spectator Business Building, Zagreb.
1. The Winner: Norwegian National Opera & Ballet Oslo, Norway. Architects: Snøhetta / Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, Tarald Lundevall, Craig Dykers © Jiri Havran
2-3. © Gerald Zugmann
4-5. © Jiri Havran
6-8 Emerging Architect Special Mention Price: Gymnasium 46º09’N/16º50E Koprivnica, Croatia. Architects: Studio Up/ Lea Pelivan, Toma Plejic © Robert Les
9-10. The Exhibition Europe's best Buildings. Mies van der Rohe Award 2009 © Pez Hejduk
