The nominees for the 2009 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture?Mies van der Rohe Award (Mies Award) have been announced, but to call it a short list would be something of an understatement. In all, 340 projects are being considered for the biennial honor, which celebrates a project completed in the previous two years.
Established by the European Commission and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation and first awarded in 2001, the Mies Award consists of the main prize, which comes with a 60,000 euro cash award and a sculptural representation of Mies' Barcelona Pavilion, and an emerging architect special mention prize, which comes with a 20,000 euro cash award and a sculpture. Previous winners of the main prize include Rem Koolhaas, Zaha Hadid, and Rafael Moneo.
Projects of any size and typology are eligible for the Mies Award. The nominees for 2009 include such diverse pieces of architecture as a gatehouse for a German company, by Barkow Leibinger Architects; a memorial for the 2004 Madrid train station bombing, by FAM Studio; a Luxumbourg water tower, by SchemelWirtz Architects; an Olympic ski jump, by Terrain: Loenhart & Mayer; and an Irish coffee bar, by Architecture 53Seven. As might be expected, the list includes a number of buildings and architects that are likely familiar to many, including Coop Himmelb(l)au's BMW Welt, Snøhetta's Oslo National Opera House, and Mangado & Associates' Spanish Pavilion.
The members of the jury for the 2009 Mies Award are Francis Rambert (chair), director, French Institute of Architecture; Ole Bouman, director, Netherlands Architecture Institute; Czech architect and publisher Irena Fialová; Fulvio Irace, director of architecture and design, Milan Triennial; Spanish architect and 2007 main prize winner Luis Mansilla; Slovenian architect and 2007 emerging architect prize winner Vasa Perovic; Spanish architect Carme Pinós; and Lluis Hortet, director, Mies van der Rohe Foundation.
A true short list of finalists will be announced early in 2009, with the main prize and emerging architect prizes awarded in May. Learn more about all 340 projects nominated for the Mies Award at miesarch.com.
