The Town House building of Kingston University in London, by Grafton Architects, and the La Borda cooperative housing in Barcelona, by Lacol, chosen as the best projects of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture 2022 - Mies van der Rohe Awards.
The Town House building creates an emotional experience from within and through the façade colonnade that creates a domestic atmosphere on different levels. Photo: Dennis Gilbert
April 27, 2022, 09:30
Building town house from Kingston University in London, Grafton Architectshas obtained the Architecture Award 2022 of the 2022 European Union Contemporary Architecture Awards – Mies van der Rohe Awards. For his part, the winner of the 2022 Emerging Award is the cooperative housing La Borda in Barcelona, from Lacol.
Town House suits dance uses, library and study spaces using layers of silence and layers of sound that work perfectly well together. Photo: Dennis Gilbert
The Town House project has been recognized for its remarkable environmental quality that creates an excellent place to study, dance, meet and be together. It suits dance uses, library and studio spaces using silence layers and sound layers that work perfectly well together. This is the first time that a university building has won the architecture award and shows that there is a need for public educational projects of this quality. The award reaffirms the international projection of the Dublin-based studio Grafton Architects founded in 1978 by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, which in 2020 won the Pritzker Prize.
The La Borda project proposes a housing access model based on co-ownership and co-management of resources and shared capacities. Photo: Municipal Institute of Housing and Rehabilitation of Barcelona
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For his part, the La Borda cooperative project it is transgressive because, in a context in which housing production is mainly dominated by macroeconomic interests, its model is based on co-ownership and co-management of shared resources and capabilities. The proposal goes beyond the specific cooperative housing project: the study author of the project, Lacolalso works as a cooperative where fourteen professionals with different backgrounds offer a role model and an active tool to promote political and urban change from within the system, based on social, ecological and economic sustainability.
La Borda is an alternative to a housing production model dominated by macroeconomic interests. Photo: Alvaro Valdecantos
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The awards ceremony will be on May 12 at an event open to the public that will take place in the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, within the EUmies Awards Day that will also include the exhibition of the finalist projects and debates on emerging themes identified by the awards jury.
The European Union Awards for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Awards, biennial and endowed with 60,000 euros, they are the most prestigious of European architecture. The award was launched in 1987 to highlight the contribution of European architects to the development of new ideas and technologies in contemporary urban development. It is co-financed by the Creative Europe Program and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe.
