Words by

grapevine

The Harpa music hall has been put on the short list for the world’s most prestigious architecture award.
A statement sent to the press from Harpa announced that the European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe have announced the five finalists who will compete for the 2013 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award. This award is considered to be the most prestigious in the world of architecture.
The five finalists are:
City Hall, Ghent, Belgium (Robbrecht en Daem architecten; Marie-José Van Hee architecten)
Superkilen, Copenhagen, Denmark (BIG Bjarke Ingels Group; Topotek1; Superflex)
Harpa – Reykjavik Concert Hall & Conference Centre, Reykjavik, Iceland (Batteríid architects; Henning Larsen Architects; Studio Olafur Eliasson)
House for Elderly People, Alcácer do Sal, Portugal (Aires Mateus Arquitectos)
Metropol Parasol, Seville, Spain
“I would like to congratulate all the architects who were nominated and the finalists in particular,” said Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth. “We have an enormous wealth of talent in European architecture, which is a shining example of our dynamic cultural and creative sectors. At the same time, we recognise that the architecture industry faces significant challenges resulting from the economic slowdown. The European Commission and Mies van der Rohe Foundation are committed to supporting the sector which makes a significant contribution to the economy and job creation, as well as being a creator of beauty and force for cohesion for our society. We will continue to support architecture, including through this prize, through the future Creative Europe programme.”
In total, 335 works in 37 European countries were nominated for the award. An expert jury drew up the final shortlist.
The overall winner of the Prize, as well as the ‘special mention’ award for best emerging architect, will be announced in May, with an award ceremony on 6 June at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, Spain.