“Architecture is one of the most visible expressions of our contemporary culture. My warmest congratulations go to this year’s winners – indeed, to all of those who made the final shortlist. They have created buildings which are not only of the highest aesthetic and technical quality, but which also touch our emotions and bring people together. I would like to thank the Fundació Mies van der Rohe for their excellent collaboration in bringing the best contemporary European architecture to worldwide attention,” said Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.

Harpa’s crystalline structure was inspired by Icelandic landscapes and traditions. Its dramatic design captures and reflects the light of the city, ocean and sky to thrilling effect. Peer Teglgaard Jeppesen, of Henning Larsen Architects, said: “On behalf of the team I would like to thank the European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe for this award. We are immensely honoured. Harpa is the result of collaborative process that has involved many people and with their efforts, strong commitment and drive Harpa has become a symbol of Iceland’s renewed dynamism.”

Wiel Arets, Chair of the Jury, said: “Harpa’s iconic and transparent porous quasi brick appears as an ever-changing play of coloured light, promoting a dialogue between the city and the building’s interior life. By giving an identity to a society long known for its sagas, through an interdisciplinary collaboration between Henning Larsen Architects and artist Olafur Eliasson, this project is an important message to the world and to the Icelandic people, fulfilling their long expected dream.”

The Nave de Música Matadero (Red Bull Music Academy), which received the Emerging Architect Special Mention award, was built in only two months to host a music festival in an early 20th-century warehouse complex in Madrid. It met the technical needs of the event, while promoting and enriching artistic encounters between the musicians.

Antoni Vives, President of the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, said: “It has been an honour for the city of Barcelona and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation to grant this Prize with the European Commission for the past 25 years: a quarter of a century of the best European architecture. I would like to congratulate the winners of this 13th edition and I would like encourage architects to continue to play their role as catalysts for transforming cities.”

Background

The winners were chosen from 335 submitted works in 37 European countries. Five works were shortlisted for the main award. The other finalists were: Market Hall (Ghent, Belgium by Robbrecht en Daem architecten, Marie-José Van Hee architecten); Superkilen (Copenhagen, Denmark by BIG Bjarke Ingels Group, Topotek1, Superflex); Home for Elderly People (Alcácer do Sal, Portugal by Aires Mateus Arquitectos) and Metropol Parasol (Seville, Spain by J. Mayer H).

The jury members who selected the finalists for 2013 are: Wiel Arets, Chair of the Jury, Principal, Wiel Arets Architects, Maastricht, Dean, College of Architecture, IIT, Chicago; Pedro Gadanho, Curator, Contemporary Architecture, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; Antón García-Abril, Principal, Ensamble Studio; Louisa Hutton, Principal, Sauerbruch Hutton Architects, Berlin; Kent Martinussen, CEO, The Danske Arkitekter Center (DAC), Copenhagen; Frédéric Migaryou, Director, Architecture & Design, Centre Pompidou, Paris; Ewa Porebska, Editor-in-Chief, Architektura-murator, Warsaw; Giovanna Carnevali, Secretary of the Jury, Director, Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona.

The architecture sector is at the heart of Europe’s vibrant cultural and creative industries. It directly employs more than half a million people, as well as more than 12 million in the construction sector. Architecture is part of the cultural and creative sectors, which contribute 4.5% to the EU’s GDP.

The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award highlights the contribution of European architects to the development of new ideas and technologies in contemporary urban development. Launched in 1987 and co-funded by the EU Culture Programme and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, the prize is the most prestigious in European architecture. It is awarded every other year to works completed within the previous two years. The winner receives €60 000. Works nominated for the Prize are put forward by independent experts, as well as by the member associations of the Architects’ Council of Europe, national architects’ associations, and the Advisory Committee for the Prize.

The Prize is named after Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who is regarded as one of the pioneers of 20th century modern architecture. His most celebrated works include the German Pavilion at the 1929 Barcelona Exhibition, Villa Tugendhat in Brno, Czech Republic, the Seagram Building in New York and the National Gallery in Berlin.

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-376_en.htm

http://umanitoba.ca/webcams/activelivingcentre.php

The five finalists are:

Harpa – Reykjavik Concert Hall & Conference Centre,

Reykjavik, Iceland

Batteríid architects; Henning Larsen Architects; Studio Olafur Eliasson

City Hall,

Ghent, Belgium

Robbrecht en Daem architecten; Marie-José Van Hee architecten

Superkilen,

Copenhagen, Denmark

BIG Bjarke Ingels Group; Topotek1; Superflex

House for Elderly People,

Alcácer do Sal, Portugal

Aires Mateus Arquitectos

Metropol Parasol,

Seville, Spain

 J. Mayer H.

links:

http://www.miesarch.com/images/stories/press/1stPressReleaseENG2013.pdf

http://www.miesarch.com/index.php?option=com_mipress&Itemid=17&cerca=&autor=-1&officina=-1&tipologia=-1&classificacio=5&pais=-1

ellen(at)arkitekt.is

tel 5454 726

3 architectural offices were invited: Snøhetta in Oslo, Norway, BIG Architects in Copenhagen, Denmark and a team of 2 offices – Link Arkitektur in Bergen, Norway together with Batteriid Architects from Iceland. The proposal of Link/Batteriid Architects was appointed as the winner of the competition.

The competition area is 6 hektars and is expected to be built up with a dense mixture of shops, offices and housing. The building pattern allows for flexibility in density and in building in stages.

The main objective of the proposal is to develop a sustainable neigbourhood in human scale. The model was taken from the typical old harbour houses in central Bergen. In the proposal two high rise towers are situated in the north-west corner of the area and a culture hall in the south-east corner.The high rise towers will help give the the area an identity and they will be visible from far away.

The main traffic corridor can be described as a riverbed which winds itself through the area from north to south and creates a social forum for pedestrians, cars, firms, shops and inhabitants.

The built area is organized in a way of layers: A subterranean garage forms the bottom layer with good connections with the ground floor layer where shopping malls, turning their glassfasades towards the pedestrians, are located. The third layer forms a kind of a green carpet in 12 meter modul with flats, offices and gardens which connect the recreational areas on both sides of the valley and help ensure the access of daylight into the buildings. The gardens are connected with pathways giving opportunities for experience of various kinds.

The main plaza around the culture hall will form the heart of the area where life will thrive with cafées, restaurants and small shops and butiques.

Information:

Project:_Auto 23 Spellhaugen – competition

Address: Fyllingsdal, Bergen

Customer: Auto 23 Spelhaugen

Design: Batteríið Arkitektar og Link Arkitektur

Landscape design: Batteríið Arkitektar and Link Arkitektur

Size: 149.860 m2

Completed: 2012
http://www.bygg.no/2012/11/96713    http://www.fremtidensbygg.no/?p=1350   http://np.netpublicator.com/netpublication/n60064480   http://www.fremtidensbygg.no/?p=1350

Floor area: 13.995   m²

Year of project: 2012

Collaboration: Link Arkitektur, Asplan Viak and Stein Halvorsen Arkitekter (renderings, Ensign)

After reviewing more than 100 design concepts from architects, design firms, students, health care companies, and engineering and construction firms from throughout the U.S. and over sees, Kaiser Permanente announced our team as one of the  9 (nine) finalists in its “Small Hospital, Big Idea” competition.

Floor area: 13.000 m²

Collaboration: TBL Architects (Teiknistofan Ármúla, Batteríið Architects, Landslag), Iceland, John Cooper Architecture, UK and  The Institute for Ecological Design (I4ED) and HCP in USA.

Floor area: 10.000  m²

Year of project: 2011

Collaboration: Landslag, landscape architects in consultation with Henning Larsen Architects and Olafur Eliasson artist