The European Commission and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation announced the six finalists competing for the 2011 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – the Mies van der Rohe Award. They have been shortlisted from 343 works in 33 European countries. The award ceremony will take place on June 20, 2011 at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, Spain.
“Our finalists have two things in common – they are European and they are among the world’s most visionary architects. The EU Prize celebrates their talent and showcases the economic, social and cultural importance of our creative industries”, said Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.
The six finalists are:
Neues Museum Berlin, Germany – David Chipperfield Architects / David Chipperfield
Bronks Youth Theatre Brussels, Belgium – MDMA – Martine De Maeseneer Architecten / Martine De Maeseneer, Dirk Van den Brande
MAXXI: Museum of XXI Century Arts Rome, Italy – Zaha Hadid Architects / Zaha Hadid, Patrick Schumacher, Gianluca Racana
Concert House Danish Radio Copenhagen, Denmark – Ateliers Jean Nouvel / Jean Nouvel
Acropolis Museum Athens, Greece – Bernard Tschumi Architects / Bernard Tschumi
Rehabilitation Centre Groot Klimmendaal Arnhem, The Netherlands – Architectenbureau Koen van Velsen / Koen van Velsen
As well as highlighting excellence in contemporary buildings, the Prize highlights the contribution of European architects to the development of new ideas and technologies in urban development. Launched in 1987 and co-funded by the EU Culture Programme and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation, the €60,000 prize is the most prestigious award in European architecture and is awarded every other year to works completed within the previous two years. This year’s ceremony is the 12th to take place since its launch.
Works nominated for the Prize are put forward by independent experts from all over Europe; as well as the member associations of the Architects’ Council of Europe, national architects’ associations, and the Advisory Committee for the Prize.
The jury members who selected the finalists for 2011 are: Mohsen Mostafavi, Chair of the jury and Dean of the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, Cambridge, USA; Ole Bouman, Director of the Nederlands Architectuurinstituut, Rotterdam; Yvonne Farrell of Grafton Architects, Dublin; Annette Gigon of Gigon/Guyer, Zürich; Anne Lacaton of Lacaton& Vassal Architectes, Paris; Tarald Lundevall of SNØHETTA, Oslo; Pei Zhu, Beijing, China; and Lluís Hortet, Secretary of the jury and Director of the Fundació Mies van der Rohe.
The principal objectives of this European initiative, supported in the framework of the EU Culture Programme, are to recognize and commend excellence in the field of architecture and to draw attention to the important contribution of European professionals in the development of new ideas and technologies in the field of urban development. The finalist works are a strong illustration of how architecture contributes to building a creative, inclusive and forward-looking Europe, in line with the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy.
Previous winners include: Banco Borges e Irmão, Vila do Conde, Portugal by Álvaro Siza Vieira; Stansted Airport , London, United Kingdom by Norman Foster / Norman Foster + Partners; Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France by Dominique Perrault; Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz, Austria by Peter Zumthor; Kursaal Centre, San Sebastián, Spain by Rafael Moneo; Car Park and Terminus Hoenheim North, Strasbourg, France by Zaha Hadid / Zaha Hadid Architects; Netherlands Embassy, Berlin, Germany by OMA / Rem Koolhaas, Ellen van Loon; and Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, Oslo, Norway by SNØHETTA / Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, Tarald Lundevall, Craig Dykers.
For more information, please visit http://ec.europa.eu/culture/our-programmes-and-actions/doc1103_en.htm.