Exhibition
Europe’s best Buildings
The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture. Mies van der Rohe Award 2019
Transformation of 530 dwellings – Grand Parc Bordeaux, Bordeaux, FR, Architects: Lacaton & Vassal architectes; Frédéric Druot Architecture and Christophe Hutin Architecture
© Photo: Philippe Ruault
Every two years, the exhibition "Europe's Best Buildings" focuses on outstanding architectural projects from Europe and has thus become a magnet for the public. It honours projects whose visionary character serves as an orientation, if not a manifesto for the development of contemporary architecture.
The Covid19 crisis is clearly showing the importance of good housing developments, along with new combinations of living and working and a city of short distances with functioning neighbourhoods and generous public spaces. The biennial EU Mies Award once again provides the architectural responses to urgent social issues. The main prize has been awarded to a ground-breaking housing project: a radical transformation of three apartment blocks from the 1960s in Bordeaux by architects Lacaton & Vassal in collaboration with Frédéric Druot and Christophe Hutin. The other finalists’ projects range from a public square in Tirana, Albania, to new combinations of living and working in Berlin. The Emerging Architect prize went to the young French architects BAST for the school refectory in the village of Montbrun-Bocage, near Toulouse in France. From the almost 400 projects nominated from 36 European nations, a total of 40 projects were selected for the exhibition by the distinguished jury, of which the Az W Director Angelika Fitz was a member. These include three projects from Austria: the state school in Seestadt Aspern by fasch&fuchs.architekten and a housing development by StudioVlayStreeruwitz in Vienna-Floridsdorf as well as the Haus der Musik by Erich Strolz and Dietrich Untertrifaller in Innsbruck. The exhibition is supplemented by the 15 nominated projects involving Austrian participation.
Photographs of the opening day
Catalogue
An exhibition catalogue presents all the nominated projects and is available at Az W as part of the exhibition.
An exhibition by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona and Creative Europe at the Architekturzentrum Wien.