EUROPEAN UNION PRIZE FOR CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE – MIES VAN DER ROHE AWARD 2009 Fundacio Mies van der Rohe-Barcelona
4-29 June 2010
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An interesting exhibition will open on June 15th at the National Gallery for Foreign Art in Sofia. Architecture, considered in the ancient world the foremost among the arts, is the subject of an aesthetically arranged display. The occasion for the itinerant exhibition is the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, Mies van der Rohe Award for 2009.
This international initiative sets out to foster the achievements of modern European architecture (the application and development of innovative concepts and technologies, to stimulate greater circulation of professional architects throughout the entire European Union and, last but not least, to support young architects as they set off on their careers.
The selection of the finalists passes through two stages, which include examining the nominated projects, nominating a set of finalists, visiting the respective buildings and announcing the winner of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture and the holder of the Emerging Architect Special Mention. The Award consists of a cash prize of ˆ60,000 and a sculpture evoking Mies van der Rohe's German Pavilion, while the Special Mention is endowed with ˆ20,000.
The Mies van der Rohe Award for 2009 went to the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo by SNOHETTA
The Jury also awarded the Emerging Architect Special Mention to STUDIO UP /Lea Pelivan and Toma Plejic for Gymnasium 46° 09' N / 16° 50' E, Koprivnica, Croatia.
The itinerant exhibition and the catalogue published to accompany it are the natural conclusion of this dynamic contest, which offers a clearer understanding of the role of architecture in modeling the social, cultural and economic aspects of the contemporary European city.
