Two Italian projects are among the seven finalist entries in the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award 2022: the extension of the Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture in Hasselt (Belgium ), designed by architect Francesca Torzo, and the redevelopment of the Enrico Fermi school in Turin, the work of BDR Bureau, a practice led by Alberto Bottero and Simona Della Rocca, which is in contention for the Emerging Architecture category.
The seven finalist projects – five in the Architecture category and two in the Emerging Architecture category – were revealed today by the European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe. The projects were selected by the jury, chaired by Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao, on the basis that they can act as models and points of reference for drafting local urban planning policies.
For the project Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture in Hasselt, architect Francesca Torzo designed a new museum wing in continuity with the existing buildings, including at the level of materials through the use of brick, distinguished by alternating closed and open spaces. BDR Bureau’s project for the Enrico Fermi school in Turin involved the renovation of a 1960s building, redeveloping it on in response to new teaching methods, and creating an interconnected system of indoor and outdoor learning environments.
Read about the EU Mies Award 2022 event program.
Besides the project by Francesca Torzo, the other four finalists in the Architecture category are 85 social housing units in Cornellà de Llobregat (Catalonia), designed by peris toral.arquitectes; the mixed-use Frizz23 complex in Berlin, designed by Deadline, which includes offices, apartments, and rooms for training activities; the Ferme du Rail in Paris, a structure designed by Grand Huit and Mélanie Drevet Paysagiste that comprises social housing and a range of other spaces, including a greenhouse; the Town House, a new addition to Kingston University in London, designed by Irish studio Grafton Architects, which houses a library and a school of dance. The school designed by BRD Bureau will compete for the title of Emerging Architecture with the La Borda public housing complex in Barcelona, the work of the Lacol architecture cooperative.
The winners of the EU Mies Award 2022 will be announced in late April, while the awards ceremony will take place at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion on May 12, and will include a program of discussions and lectures.
Location: Barcellona
Organization: Fundació Mies van der Rohe
Photography by José Hevia, Guillaume Bontemps, BDR Bureau, Simone Bossi, Gion Balthasar Von Albertini, Matthew Griffin, Lacol, Institut Municipal de l'Habitatge i Rehabilitació de Barcelona, Ed Reeve, Alice Clancy, courtesy of Fundació Mies van der Rohe