Login
Registered users
The winners of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Awards 2026 have been announced in Oulu, European Capital of Culture 2026. The prize, promoted by the European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe במסגרת the Creative Europe programme, celebrates excellence in contemporary architecture.
The main awards – Architecture and Emerging Architecture – have been granted respectively to the renovation of the Charleroi Palais des Expositions in Belgium (AgwA e architecten jan de vylder inge vinck) and to the Temporary Spaces for the Slovenian National Theatre Drama in Ljubljana (Vidic Grohar Arhitekti).
The announcement took place at the Aalto Siilo, a landmark of industrial architecture dating back to 1931, in the presence of European Commissioner Glenn Micallef and representatives of the foundation. The two winning projects were selected from 410 entries by an international jury, following a rigorous evaluation process that included site visits to all seven finalists.
>>> Discover the 40 shortlisted works
The independent international jury, chaired by Smiljan Radić Clarke and composed of Carl Bäckstrand, Chris Briffa, Zaiga Gaile, Tina Gregorič, Nikolaus Hirsch and Rosa Rull Bertrán, identified a shared direction among the finalist projects: an architecture that works with existing conditions, turning constraints into opportunities and redefining the possibilities of transformation, reuse and repair in contemporary Europe.
The awarded projects embody this vision with particular clarity, emphasizing adaptability and a conscious use of resources in response to today’s environmental, social and economic challenges.
The main prize goes to the renovation of the Charleroi Palais des Expositions, a 1950s exhibition centre located in Wallonia, Belgium. Commissioned by the City of Charleroi, the project was designed by AgwA (Brussels) and architecten jan de vylder inge vinck (Ghent), working together under the name AjdvivagwA.
The intervention stands out for its approach, which deliberately avoids replacement in favour of reactivating the existing building through targeted and precise actions. The design strategy enhances the structure’s intrinsic qualities, reinterpreting them in a contemporary key while introducing new spatial and social possibilities. The jury recognised the project as a significant example of how transformation and repair can become central tools in architectural practice.
The Emerging Architecture prize was awarded to Temporary Spaces for Slovenian National Theatre Drama, designed by Vidic Grohar Arhitekti (Ljubljana) for client L56 d.o.o.
The project is celebrated for its ability to turn a temporary condition into a lasting architectural system. Through a series of low-cost, precise interventions, an abandoned industrial complex is transformed into an active, flexible and inclusive cultural infrastructure. By redefining the relationship between permanence and temporality, the project demonstrates how adaptive reuse can generate new scenarios for the contemporary city.
The awards ceremony will take place on 11 and 12 May 2026 at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion and Palau Victòria Eugènia in Barcelona, as part of the EUmies Awards Days, coinciding with Barcelona World Capital of Architecture.
The event will feature talks, meetings with architects, clients and jury members, as well as the opening of the exhibition dedicated to the selected projects. A rich public programme will accompany the event, reinforcing the role of the prize as a platform for exchange and dissemination of contemporary architecture across Europe.
Full details are available on the official website.
>>> Discover also the winners of the EUmies Awards Young Talent 2025 and the EUmies Awards 2024
All images courtesy of EUmies Awards
