In the final of the Mies van der Rohe Award 2017, five buildings are competing

The Mies van der Rohe Foundation in Barcelona has announced the final 5 works that will compete for the EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award 2017. Poland has its entry in the running again, as it previously won the main prize at the last biennale for the philharmonic in Szczecin. Other countries in the prestigious selection include the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and France.

The biennale of competition exhibitions of completed buildings has been organized by the European Union and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation in Barcelona since 1988. The aim of the competition is to highlight the contributions of European architects, observe how they apply new concepts and technologies in practice, and compare the quality of architecture in individual European countries. The jury for 2017 is composed of architects, architectural historians, and curators Stephen Bates (United Kingdom, chairman), Gonçalo Byrne (Portugal), Peter Cachola Schmal (Germany), Pelin Derviş (Turkey), Dominique Jakob (France), Juulia Kauste (Finland), and Małgorzata Omilanowska (Poland).

From 355 nominations, the international expert jury selected forty of the best European buildings in January 2017, which will subsequently be presented in a catalog and at an exhibition. From this narrower selection, the jury chose five finalists for the competition. In the final, it will determine one building that will receive the EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award, and one building that will be awarded a Special Prize for Emerging Architects. The results of this prestigious award will be announced at a gala evening on May 26, 2017. This announcement will be preceded by lectures and discussions with the finalists. Individual nominations carried out by professional organizations, academic institutions, and selected experts also hold significant weight within the individual member states.

5 Best European Buildings from the Last Two Years

While two years ago the main prize went to a Polish building designed by foreign architects, this year the jury was impressed by the Katyń Museum designed by the Warsaw studio BBGK Architekci. The museum commemorates a painful part of Polish history from World War II, when more than twenty thousand Polish military officers and state officials were brutally murdered by the Soviet secret police.

The Rivesaltes Museum and Memorial in France also works with the theme of national history. The building by French architect Rudy Ricciotti is particularly interesting because it is mostly embedded underground and does not offer any views of the exterior except for glimpses of the sky through roof windows.

The list of finalists also includes two residential complexes. While one of them is part of the new residential area Ely Court in London (Alison Brooks Architects), the other focuses on the renovation of one of the largest residential complexes in Amsterdam, consisting of about 500 housing units - the deFlatKleiburg project (NL Architects and XVW architectuur).

The jury was also impressed by the sensitive approach to historical heritage demonstrated by the Danish studio Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects in the renovations of the medieval Kannikegården Cathedral in Ribe - the oldest town in Denmark.