Mies van der Rohe Award 2009: Exhibition and Accompanying Program

Multimodal Center – Nice Tramway, Nice, France (authors: Atelier Marc Barani)

Exhibition — From September 30 to October 31, 2010, The Golden Ratio organizes an exhibition Mies van der Rohe Award 2009 / European Prize for Contemporary Architecture in cooperation with the Fundació Mies van der Rohe in Barcelona and the National Gallery in Prague. This traveling exhibition is the most comprehensive and highest-quality showcase of contemporary European architecture.
The exhibition presents, through plans, photographs, and texts, the 49 best European buildings selected by an international jury appointed by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe in Barcelona. Buildings that meet the nomination criteria – were completed in the last two years, designed by a European architect, and built in one of the 31 European countries – are nominated for the competition by a large group of independent experts and national architectural chambers and institutions united in the European Council of Architects. The exhibition briefly introduces visitors to the history of the Prize and the conduct of the jury meetings, including the reasoning behind the results.
The European Prize for Contemporary Architecture was first awarded in 1988 and is considered the most prestigious award for contemporary European architects. After the solemn announcement of the Prize results, the finalists' exhibition travels through European capitals. The Golden Ratio has been bringing the exhibition to Prague since 2004 as a partner of the European Prize for Contemporary Architecture, this year for the first time in cooperation with the National Gallery directly in the Trade Fair Palace. The exhibition will feature a rich accompanying program: every Wednesday, there will be themed afternoons in the Trade Fair Palace with film screenings and discussions with architects.

University Luigi Bocconi, Milan, Italy (authors: Grafton Architects)

European Prize — The Prize of the European Union for Contemporary Architecture, as the exact translation of the official title goes, is the most prestigious award for European architects and their realizations. The goal of the prize is to support creativity in contemporary architecture and to show how significant a role contemporary architecture plays in shaping European society and culture. The prize emphasizes the importance of architecture as a co-creator of public space, one of the decisive factors influencing the quality of life.
The biennial prize is awarded every two years jointly by the European Union and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe based in Barcelona. The prize is not restricted by the scale or program of the building. Each year, we find private homes, public housing projects, museums and cultural institutions, educational, healthcare, and sports buildings, as well as large infrastructure projects and transportation facilities.
The prize includes a sum of €60,000 for the winner and €20,000 for the holder of the Special Recognition for Young Architect. Both laureates will also receive a statuette evoking the Barcelona Pavilion by Mies van der Rohe, which is a symbol not only of this Prize but primarily of peak architectural creativity and innovation.
The laureates of the last edition in 2009 were the authors of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo: Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, Tarald Lundevall, and Craig Dykers from the office of SNØHETTA in Oslo.
The Special Prize for Young Architects in 2009 was awarded to Zagreb architects Lea Pelivan and Toma Plejić / STUDIO UP for Gymnasium 46° 09' N / 16° 50' E in Koprivnica, Croatia.

Library, Senior Citizens’ Centre and City Block Core Zone, Sant Antoni’s District, Barcelona, Spain (authors: RCR Aranda Pigem Vilalta Arquitectes)

The Jury of the Prize and the Evaluation Process — The Jury of the Prize consists of architects, architecture theorists, and representatives of architectural institutions from across Europe. Among the jury members is always a laureate of the previous edition of the prize and the holder of the Special Prize for Young Architect. In 2009, the Czech Republic had its representative in the jury for the first time: it was Ing. arch. Irena Fialová, who has been collaborating with the Fundació Mies van der Rohe as one of the independent experts of the Prize since 1996.
The jury for the 2009 edition met twice. At the first meeting in Barcelona from February 6 to 8, 2009, they became acquainted with all 340 nominated buildings based on the submitted documentation. After extensive debate, they selected a preliminary list of 38 buildings for inclusion in the catalog and exhibition.
From these 38 works, the jury selected 5 super-finalists from which the winner of the Prize was to emerge:

— Tram Terminal in Nice, France, author Marc Barani / Atelier Marc Barani
— University Luigi Bocconi, Milan, Italy, authors Shelley McNamara, Yvonne Farrell / Grafton Architects
— Library, Senior Citizens’ Centre and Public Space, Barcelona, Spain, authors Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem, Ramon Vilalta / RCR Arquitectes
— Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo, Norway, authors Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, Tarald Lundevall, Craig Dykers / SNØHETTA
— Zenith Music Hall, Strasbourg, France, authors Massimiliano & Doriana Fuksas / Studio Fuksas

The Norwegian Opera & Ballet, Oslo, Norway (authors: Snøhetta)

The second meeting followed after the jury members personally visited all finalist buildings from April 23 to 25, 2009. On April 26, 2009, at a meeting held at the Milan Triennale, the jury decided to expand the list of finalist buildings for the exhibition and catalog to a total of 49 buildings, considering the large number of nominated buildings and their outstanding quality. This broad selection is a reflection of the strong architectural culture in Europe and its dedication to urban values.
The jury members agreed that each of the projects represented a certain architectural strategy, corresponding to the specific conditions of the location and program, and that all five finalists approached contemporary situations and themes from a conceptual perspective that confronts them with the real challenges of our current cities.
After extensive debate, the jury reached the decision that the laureate of the Mies van der Rohe Award 2009 / European Prize for Contemporary Architecture would be the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo.

Zenith Music Hall, Strasbourg, France (authors: Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas)