is granted every two years by the European Union and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona, to acknowledge and reward quality architectural production in Europe.

In this way, the Award draws attention to the major contribution by European professionals to the development of new ideas and technologies. At the same time, it offers both individuals and public institutions an opportunity to reach a clearer understanding of the cultural role of architecture in the construction of our cities. Furthermore, the Award sets out to foster architecture in two significant ways: by stimulating greater circulation of professional architects throughout the entire European Union in response to transnational commissions and by supporting young architects as they set off on their careers.

Candidates for the Award are put forward by a broad group of independent experts from all over Europe, as well as from the architects' associations that form part of the European Council of Architects and other European national architects' associations. At each two-yearly edition, the jury selects two works: one that receives the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture in recognition of its conceptual, technical and constructional qualities, and the other that receives the Emerging Architect Special Mention. The jury also selects a set of finalist works to be included in both the Award catalogue and exhibition.

The Award consists of a cash prize of 50,000€ and a sculpture evoking Mies van der Rohe's German Pavilion. The Special Mention is endowed with 10,000€ and a sculpture evoking the Pavilion, the genuine symbol of the Award. Regarded as one of the best architectural works of the twentieth century, the Pavilion embodies the main objectives that led to the institution of the Award: excellence and innovation in conceptual and constructional terms.

The Fundació publishes a catalogue, which features the winning and finalist entries, for each edition of the Award.


Advisory committee
Arc en rêve centre d'architecture, Bordeaux
Architecture Foundation, London
Architekturzentrum Wien, Vienna
Arkitekturmuseet, Stockholm
Berlage Institute, Rotterdam
Dansk Arkitektur Center, Copenhagen
DESSA, Ljubljana
Deutsches Architekturmuseum, Frankfurt
EUROPAN, Paris
Fundació Mies van der Rohe
Institut français d'architecture, Paris
Nasjonalmuseet for Kunst, Arkitektur og Design, Oslo
Nederlands Architectuurinstituut, Rotterdam
RIBA Foundation, London
Suomen Rakennustaiteen Museo, Helsinki
Triennale di Milano, Milan

List of winners
European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe Award

Netherlands Embassy Berlin
Berlin, Germany
Office for Metropolitan Architecture / Rem Koolhaas, Ellen van Loon

Kursaal Centre
San Sebastián, Spain.
Rafael Moneo

Kaufmann Holz AG Distribution Centre
Bobingen, Germany
Florian Nagler

With the support of the Culture 2000
programme of the European Union