EUmies Awards Day 2024 celebrated the best European Architecture

On the 14th of May in Barcelona, Gustav Düsing and Max Hacke, Architecture winners of the EUmies Awards 2024 for the Study Pavilion on the Campus of the Technical University of Braunschweig (Braunschweig), and Elena Orte and Guillermo Sevillano of SUMA Arquitectura, Emerging winners for the Gabriel García Márquez Library (Barcelona), together with the finalists and those who commissioned the buildings, received the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Awards 2024 trophies at a ceremony that took place at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion.

Initiated in 1987 after an agreement between the European Parliament and the Barcelona City Council, the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Awards have been organized by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe -created in 1983 with the aim of reconstructing the German Pavilion that Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich built for the 1929 International Exhibition in Barcelona- and the European Commission.

EUmies prize is awarded biennially to works completed within the previous two 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.

The Mayor of Barcelona, Mr. Jaume Collboni, and the Deputy Director-General for Education, Youth, Sport, and Culture of the European Commission, Mr. Normunds Popens, have delivered the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Awards trophies to Gustav Düsing and Max Hacke for the Study Pavilion on the Campus of the Technical University of Braunschweig (Braunschweig). The Architecture Winner receives 60,000€ and a sculpture by Xavier Corberó that evokes the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion of Barcelona.

The Emerging Winner Elena Orte and Guillermo Sevillano of SUMA Arquitectura, for the Gabriel García Márquez Library (Barcelona), receive 30,000€ together with the sculpture.

The Emerging winner is distinguished by a combination of qualities such as excellence and authenticity of design; a genuine and innovative character of its work; and high standard, well-executed, and sustainable construction. The jury selects the winner among those applicants who have not yet attained recognition by having a body of critically recognized work at major and established institutions or publishers.

The Young Talent is the most recent addition to the Prize (2016), which recognizes and awards the best graduation projects of architecture students throughout Europe and beyond.

The finalists and the clients receive a sculpture by Tomoko Sakamoto, recognizing their indispensable contribution to contemporary architecture. The Prize draws the map of the best European Contemporary Architecture with the Architecture Winner, the Emerging Winner, and the Young Talent Winners. The prestige of the Prize and the dissemination of the knowledge and savoir-faire of European architects is further enhanced with the organization of exhibitions and debates worldwide, bringing architecture nearer to citizens. All these works can be found in the online archive which counts 4,500 works. World-Architects is the strategic partner of the EUmies Awards which also counts on the partnership with Jung and Jansen and the support of USM modular furniture and Alma with the European Cultural Centre as venue partner in Venice.

The Director-General of Planning and Urbanism of the Government of Catalonia, Mr. Agustí Serra, the Director-General of Urban Agenda and Architecture of the Government of Spain, Mrs. María Teresa Verdú, the chief architect of the Barcelona City Council Maria Buhigas, and the jury members, delivered the trophies to the finalists and the clients, those who made these works possible.

European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mrs. Iliana Ivanova, shared some words with the audience via a video message, reiterating that “Architecture is a fundamental part not just of our European culture, but also of sustainable development and people’s well-being. The winners of the 2024 EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Awards demonstrate this very clearly. Their works reflect the principles of the New European Bauhaus, bringing the green transition into people’s everyday lives and living spaces. My heartfelt congratulations to the architects and collaborators behind these endeavors!”

EUmies Awards 2024 Exhibition

The EUmies Awards 2024 Exhibition has been inaugurated in the Palau Victòria Eugènia, showcasing the 362 nominated works that form an impressive cartography of the best European Architecture over the past two years. These works, spanning 38 European countries, encompassing 125 regions and 240 locations, are in unique points in the northern hemisphere of our planet. Following the Earth’s meridians, the group of works create the map of the EUmies Awards 2024, from the icy landscape of Greenland to a subtropical banana grove in the Canary Islands.

The exhibition displays models, texts, videos, and drawings of all the 362 works participants in this edition. LINA European Architecture Platform fellows Estelle Barriol and Fanny Bordes of Studio ACTE have overseen parts of the furniture of the exhibition and fellow Tiago Casanova has made the video of the emerging finalist work.

The exhibition will later embark on its tour around Europe with an opening in Madrid at the Casa de la Arquitectura in July; and at the Architekturzentrum Wien in Vienna in October.

The winners, the finalists, and those who made these works possible have also been invited to Barcelona to take part in the talks and conferences. LINA fellow Océane Ragoucy has moderated the conversations on contemporary architecture, delving into its evolution and transformation, while also emphasizing the virtuous relationship between the profession and the industry.

The EUmies Awards Day has concluded with a celebration in the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion with all those involved.

The Out & About program of the EUmies Awards, aiming to discover architecture with the authors and promoters of the 40 shortlisted works, started in May organizing guided tours and events in the buildings and sharing with everybody the experiences of the authors. Organized together with Guiding Architects, in the framework of the EUmies Awards Day Out & About offered two visits in the Barcelona area: Social Housing 1737 by Harquitectes and Gabriel García Márquez Library by SUMA arquitectura, Emerging winner.

These events were the starting point of the Barcelona Architecture Weeks. A cultural festival, from the 14th of May to the 28th of June, with exhibitions, competitions, prizes, and guided tours that connect the city with its community. They were open to the public and aimed to promote knowledge of contemporary architecture and its values to the public, both in-person and through streaming.

And if you wanted to see the EUmies Awards Day granting ceremony: