The European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe have unveiled the seven finalists that will compete for the 2024 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Awards. The jury considers that the seven finalist works – five in the Architecture category and two in the Emerging category – encourage and provide references for local city policies which can become global European models as they all create high-quality inclusive living environments. Most of them transformed and improved the conditions of rather small communities in places that had gone through different processes of oblivion: former industrial areas and small rural villages. At the same time, the works in bigger cities are implemented in rather peripheric areas, building strong associations with the existing neighborhoods.
The five Architecture finalist works are: the Plato Contemporary Art Gallery in Ostrava, Moravia-Silesia, Czech Republic, by KWK Promes, based in Katowice, Poland; the Study Pavilion on the Campus of the Technical University of Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, Germany, by Berlin-based Gustav Düsing & Max Hacke; the Reggio School in Madrid, Spain, by Andres Jaque / Office for Political Innovation, based in the same city; the rebirth of the Convent Saint-François in Sainte-Lucie-de-Tallano / Santa Lucia de Tallà, Corsica, France, by Amelia Tavella Architectes, based in Aix en Provence, France; and the Häge in Lund, Scania County, Sweden, by Oslo-based Brendeland & Kristoffersen architects.
The two Emerging finalist works are the Gabriel García Márquez Library in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, by SUMA arquitectura, based in Madrid, and the Square and Tourist Office in Piódão, Central Portugal, by Branco del Rio, based in Coimbra, Portugal.
In the words of the jury, the seven works exceed the paradigm of sustainability and dignify everyday architecture, the places where we inhabit and learn, where we meet, discuss, and enjoy ourselves.
The announcement of the winners will take place on 25 April in CIVA, Centre for Information, Documentation and Exhibitions on the city, architecture, landscape and urban planning in Brussels.
The award ceremony will take place on May 14 at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, along with conferences, debates, and the opening of the exhibition featuring all the projects selected for the prize, on the occasion of the opening day of the Barcelona Architecture Weeks.