European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Awards

Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, congratulates the winner of the EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture 2013

Winner and special mention in 2013

Harpa, the Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Centre in Iceland, won the 2013 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award. Designed by Henning Larsen Architects, Batteríið Architects and Studio Olafur Eliasson, the building has helped to transform and revitalise Reykjavik harbour and brought the city and harbour district closer together.

The 'Emerging Architect Special Mention' award went to María Langarita and Víctor Navarro for the Nave de Música Matadero (Red Bull Music Academy) in Madrid, Spain.

The award ceremony took place on 7 June at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, coinciding with the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the prize.

Finalists in 2013

The five finalists announced by the European Commission together with the Mies van der Rohe Foundation were:

City Hall Ghent, Belgium Robbrecht en Daem architecten; Marie-José Van Hee architecten	Superkilen Copenhagen Denmark BIG Bjarke Ingels Group; Topotek1; Superflex
Harpa - Reykjavik Concert Hall & Conference Centre Reykjavik, Iceland Batteríid architects; Henning Larsen Architects; Studio Olafur Eliasson	Metropol Parasol Seville, Spain J. Mayer H.
House for Elderly People Alcácer do Sal, Portugal Aires Mateus Arquitectos

About the Prize

The biennial European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture and the Special Mention for an Emerging Architect are awarded to highlight recent, excellent examples of architectural creativity of works which are less than two years old and to underline that modern architecture is socially and culturally rooted in European cities and is important in people's everyday life. The prizes are awarded for works in the countries participating in the Culture Programme.

The Prize consists of 60 000 EUR and the Special Mention consists of 20 000 EUR.

Organization

The European Commission manages the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture in cooperation with the Mies van der Rohe Foundation. The Foundation is in charge of organising the selection and the award ceremony of the Prize. The Mies van der Rohe Foundation was selected in 2008 on the basis of an open call for proposals as part of the "Special action" of the Culture Programme.

The Mies van der Rohe Foundation is based in Barcelona and is supported by a network of 15 architecture institutes and a committee of experts from 31 countries. (Website of the Prize)

To see the winners of the previous editions, click here.