The European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe have announced the seven finalist projects for the 2026 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Awards, supported by the European Union's Creative Europe programme. The selection follows the announcement of 410 nominated works in November and a shortlist of 40 projects revealed in early January. Of the seven finalists, five have been selected in the Architecture category and two in the Emerging category. According to the jury chaired by Smiljan Radić, the finalist projects are exemplary contributions to the future of European architecture, demonstrating how the discipline can respond simultaneously to specific local conditions and broader social, cultural, and environmental challenges. The selected works range from interventions in former industrial sites, small villages, and peripheral urban areas to carefully calibrated projects within larger cities. Across these varied contexts, the projects show how architecture can transform overlooked or ordinary settings into inclusive, high-quality spaces for living, learning, and social exchange.
What unites the seven finalist projects is a strong focus on the human dimension of architecture. The jury emphasized that these works illustrate how contemporary practice can balance preservation and transformation, reuse and new construction, while remaining attentive to everyday life. Both emerging and established architects demonstrate simplicity, rigor, and flexibility, with design decisions guided by material choices, scale, and spatial clarity. Sustainability, social responsibility, multifunctionality, and cultural sensitivity emerge as shared values, reflecting an architecture that is experimental yet grounded and responsive to the realities of contemporary Europe.
The winners of the Architecture and Emerging categories will be announced on 16 April 2026 during an event at the Aalto Silo in Oulu, European Capital of Culture 2026. The EUmies Awards Days, including the Awards Ceremony, exhibitions, lectures, and debates, will take place in May 2026 in Barcelona at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion and Palau Victòria Eugènia, in the context of Barcelona World Capital of Architecture UNESCO-UIA. Public programmes and guided visits to shortlisted projects will follow as part of the EUmies Awards Out&About initiative. Find below the seven finalist projects, with descriptions provided by the organization.
Architecture Finalists
Charleroi Palais des Expositions / AgwA + architecten jan de vylder inge vinck
- City: Charleroi, Hainaut, Belgium
- Architects: AgwA + architecten jan de vylder inge vinck
- Architectural programme: Culture - Congress Centre, Culture Centre, Exhibition, Dance
- Intervention type: Regeneration
- Location: Industrial Fabric 20th Century
- Client: City of Charleroi (Public)
- Project description: This project renovates a 1950s convention centre to better serve today's city and its residents. Instead of demolishing the building, the existing structure is reused and opened up. The former closed central hall extends the public space inside the building, making it more accessible and easier to move through. Outside, hard paved areas are replaced by a continuous green park, improving the environment and reconnecting the building with its surroundings. The result is a building that preserves its original character while offering a completely new experience.
Rehabilitation of Vapor Cortès - Prodis 1923 / H ARQUITECTES
- City: Terrasa, Catalonia, Spain
- Architects: H ARQUITECTES (David Lorente, Josep Ricart, Xavier Ros, Roger Tudó)
- Architectural programme: Social welfare - Community
- Intervention type: Regeneration
- Location: Industrial Fabric 20th Century
- Client: Prodiscapacitats Fundació Privada Terrassenca (PRODIS) (Private)
- Project description: The new Prodis headquarters transforms the old Vapor Marquès warehouses into an inclusive centre organized around a recovered passage that becomes a new street for the city. The new intervention introduces wooden structures, skylights, and energy passive systems while respecting its original character.
Lot 8, LUMA Arles - Renovation of Le Magasin Électrique / Atelier Luma, BC architects & studies + ASSEMBLE
- City: Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
- Architects: Atelier Luma, BC architects & studies, and ASSEMBLE (James Binning, Joe Halligan, Maria Lisogorskaya, Adam Willis, Jan Boelen, Daniel Bell, Laurens Bekemans, Baptiste Chatenet)
- Architectural programme: Industrial - Research
- Intervention type: Regeneration
- Location: Industrial Fabric 19th Century
- Client: The Luma Foundation (Private)
- Project description: In 2019, the Luma Foundation commissioned Assemble and BC Architects to transform a 19th-century train depot in Arles into Atelier LUMA, a design lab exemplifying bioregional design, using Camargue resources, regenerative materials, and local knowledge for a sustainable, socially engaged architecture.
Josephine Baker - Marie-Jose Perec Sports and Cultural Centre / onze04
- City: La Bouëxière - Beuzid-ar-C'hoadoù, Brittany, France
- Architects: onze04 (Gustavo Silva-Nicoletti)
- Architectural programme: Sport & Leisure - Sports Centre, Tennis, Children & Youth
- Intervention type: New Construction
- Location: Periphery
- Client: Commune de La Bouëxière (Public)
- Project description: The project creates a new cultural and sports facility hosting regional competitions. It forms a major hub integrating existing facilities and reconnecting the area with neighbouring districts. Its textile-roof hall offers natural light and ventilation, becoming a symbolic urban landmark.
Gruž Market / ARP / Peračić-Veljačić
- City: Dubrovnik, Adriatic Croatia, Hrvatska
- Architects: ARP / Peračić-Veljačić (Dinko Peračić, Miranda Veljačić)
- Architectural programme: Commerce - Market
- Intervention type: Regeneration
- Location: Historic Centre
- Client: Sanitat Dubrovnik (Public)
- Project description: An adjustable and carefully shaped canopy/roof, lightweight and optimistic in its appearance, floats above the marketplace and articulates spatial and cultural relations. At once, it gives integrity to the market square, new life to the heritage, public climatic shelter, and new identity to the city.
Emerging Finalists
Multi-Service Cultural Centre Le Foirail / Betillon & Freyermuth* + Crypto Architectes
- City: Laguiole-La Guiòla, Occitanie, France
- Architects: Betillon & Freyermuth and Crypto Architectes (Raphaël Betillon, Guillaume Freyermuth, Jean Baptiste Friot)
- Architectural programme: Mixed Use Cultural and Social - Children & Youth, Library, Music, Civic Centre
- Intervention type: New Construction
- Location: Historic Centre
- Client: Communauté de communes Aubrac, Carladez et Viadène (Public)
- Project description: A radical hall in Laguiole, open and adaptable, rooted in a proud rural territory with limited resources. Rather than imitating historical styles, the building serves as a shared public space: a flexible, functional structure that can evolve over time and support collective life and local identity. Built using local resources, with materials and uses designed to grow and change.
Temporary Spaces for Slovenian National Theatre Drama / Vidic Grohar Arhitekti
- City: Ljubljana, Western Slovenia, SIovenia
- Architects: Vidic Grohar Arhitekti (Anja Vidic, Jure Grohar)
- Architectural programme: Culture - Theatre
- Intervention type: Regeneration
- Location: Industrial Fabric 20th Century
- Client: L56 d.o.o. (Mixed)
- Project description: The project involves the adaptive reuse of a former industrial hall as a Temporary National Theatre during the renovation of the city's historic theatre building. Located within a complex of 1960s industrial halls on the city's fringe, it establishes a new programmatic centre. A series of low-budget interventions carried out in a short period transformed the abandoned industrial hall into a vibrant new public building.
