Europe’s Best Buildings. Mies van der Rohe Award 2017

During the Austrian Presidency of the EU, the Az W is showing the best European architecture projects from the last two years. This year's focus is on housing, for the first time.

The Mies van der Rohe Award is Europe’s most prestigious award for architecture. The key aim is to provide recognition and critical acclaim for exceptional achievements in the field of architecture within Europe. Projects are awarded prizes whose innovative character serves as orientation, even as manifestos, for the development of contemporary architecture. The award is intended to promote the profession and as encouragement for architects at the outset of their careers. Both prizes, the main prize money and the Emerging Architect prize, are awarded for exceptional achievements in conceptual, technical and structural terms. Prize money totalling € 80,000 is awarded every two years (Winner: € 60,000, Emerging Architect Special Mention: € 20,000).

This year’s prize and the exhibition feature two persuasive winners from the housing sector: DeFlat Kleiburg in Amsterdam by NL architects together with XVW Architectuur, as well as the Emerging Architect Winner, Navez social housing in Brussels by MSA/V. The first of these projects is particularly ground-breaking, engaging with the participatory renovation and upgrading of a large housing development from the 1960s.

In total, over 400 European institutions and experts as well as a high-calibre jury nominated 40 projects and selected five of these as finalists. They are all to be seen in the exhibition.