Fundació Mies van der Rohe and the European Commission are proud to announce the Winners of the 2026 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Awards, supported under the Creative Europe programme.
The 2026 Prize jury highlights an architecture that works with the existing, embracing constraints as opportunities, and advancing processes of transformation, repair, and appropriation as central to contemporary practice.
The two awarded projects were chosen from 410 nominated works for the 2026 EUmies Awards which were thoroughly analysed and discussed by the seven-member jury – President Smiljan Radić, Carl Bäckstrand, Chris Briffa, Zaiga Gaile, Tina Gregorič, Nikolaus Hirsch, and Rosa Rull – before drawing up the winners.
2026 Architecture Winner
Charleroi Palais des Expositions, by AgwA and architecten Jan de Vylder Inge Vinck
The 2026 Architecture Winner is the Renovation of the 1950s convention centre Charleroi Palais des Expositions in Wallonia, Belgium, by architects AgwA (Brussels) and architecten jan de vylder inge vinck (Ghent) – AjdvivagwA, commissioned by the City of Charleroi.
It is awarded for its intelligent and precise transformation of an immense existing exhibition building, demonstrating how architecture can work with what is already there to unlock new spatial, social, and material possibilities. Rather than replacing, it reactivates the place embracing constraints, engaging with the building’s inherent qualities, and developing a bold yet resourceful approach that turns scarcity into opportunity and repair into a powerful design strategy.
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: the same building as before, but seen and used in a new way.
Facts & Credits
Project title Charleroi Palais des Expositions
City Charleroi, Hainaut, BE
Architects AgwA, Brussels + architecten jan de vylder inge vinck, Ghent
Architectural programme Culture – Congress Centre, Culture Centre, Exhibition, Dance
Intervention type Regeneration
Location Industrial Fabric 20th Century
Client City of Charleroi (Public)
Photography © FILIP DUJARDIN
2026 Emerging Architecture Winner
Temporary Spaces for Slovenian National Theatre Drama, by Vidic Grohar Arhitekti
The 2026 Emerging Architecture Winner is the Temporary Spaces for Slovenian National Theatre Drama by architects Vidic Grohar Arhitekti (Ljubljana). The client is L56 d.o.o.
It is awarded for its ability to transform a temporary condition into a powerful and lasting architectural statement, activating an abandoned industrial complex into a vibrant cultural
infrastructure. Through a series of precise, low-budget interventions, the project redefines the relationship between permanence and reuse, creating a sequence of flexible and inclusive
spaces that expand the city’s cultural life while embracing material resourcefulness and adaptability.
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 programatic centre. A series of low-budget interventions carried out in a short period transformed the abandoned industrial hall into a vibrant new public building.
Facts & Credits
Project title Temporary Spaces for Slovenian National Theatre Drama,
City Ljubljana, Western Slovenia, SI
Architects Vidic Grohar Arhitekti, Ljubljana (Anja Vidic, Jure Grohar)
Architectural programme Culture – Theatre
Intervention type Regeneration
Location Industrial Fabric 20th Century
Client L56 d.o.o. (Mixed)
Photography © MAXIME DELVAUX
Glenn Micallef, European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport said:
“Today in Oulu, the European Capital of Culture 2026, we celebrate the two winners of the 2026 EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Award. I warmly congratulate both winners on this well-deserved recognition. Their projects demonstrate how architecture can transform our living environments into sustainable, inclusive, and inspiring places. Through creativity and collaboration, they address today’s challenges, turning constrains into opportunities, while shaping a shared European future. Embodying the values of the New European Bauhaus and the Culture Compass for Europe, their works connect the European Green Deal with everyday life. Initiatives such as the EUmies Awards and the European Capital of Culture ensure that architecture and culture continue to drive innovation, cohesion, and creativity across Europe. May these visionary contributions continue to inspire people and their communities, artists, creatives, and policymakers across Europe and shape the future of Europe’s built environment.”
The jury visited the seven finalist works across Europe and engaged in extensive deliberations to select the winners from a particularly strong set of projects.
Oulu, 16 April 2026
Today in Oulu, European Capital of Culture 2026, the winners of the EUmies Awards 2026 were announced at the Silo, a landmark of industrial architecture designed in 1931 by Alvar Aalto,
during an event hosted by representatives of the European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe.
The winners were selected by an independent international jury following a rigorous evaluation process, including a jury trip to visit all finalist works across Europe, allowing for an in-depth
understanding of their context, quality, and impact.
Following the jury visits to the shortlisted works, the jury engaged in extensive deliberation to identify the winners within a particularly strong and coherent group. Through intense exchanges and diverse positions, the jury recognised a shared direction among the finalists: an architecture that works with existing conditions, embraces constraints, and redefines the possibilities of transformation, reuse, and repair in the contemporary European context.
Among the finalists, several projects stand out for their capacity to engage with existing structures as living artefacts, opening new possibilities between permanence and change. They reveal parallel approaches to intervening in large-scale built environments, where working with what is already there becomes a driver for innovation and demonstrate how architectural intelligence can transform inherited structures into adaptable and meaningful infrastructures, capable of supporting new uses and collective experiences.
Taken together, the finalist and winning works form a coherent body of projects that reflects the key directions shaping contemporary architecture today: an architecture that accepts uncertainty, works with existing realities, and transforms constraints into opportunities. Together, they offer a critical and optimistic perspective on how architecture can address environmental, social, and economic challenges, not through excess, but through precision, resourcefulness, and a renewed understanding of the value of what already exists.
The EUmies Awards Days including the Awards Ceremony, will take place on 11 and 12 May 2026, at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion and Palau Victòria Eugènia in Barcelona, in the context of the Barcelona World Capital of Architecture.
The EUmies Awards Days on 11 and 12 May, curated by the Post Like collective and open to the public, will include:
– The “EUmies Awards Talks” with Winners, Finalists, Shortlisted, clients, architecture media and people interested in discussing on the emerging topics highlighted by the jury.
– The “EUmies Awards 2026 exhibition” (11 May-6 July) with models, texts, videos, sketches and drawings of the 40 shortlisted works and a summary of all the nominees in the Palau Victòria Eugènia, Barcelona.
– The Awards Ceremony at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion and celebration.
– The Out & About programme, aimed at discovering architecture with the authors and promoters of the 40 shortlisted works who have been invited to organise events in their buildings and share their experiences with everybody. This programme is organised together with Guiding Architects.
The ‘EUmies Awards 2026’ exhibition will embark on its tour around Europe once it ends in Barcelona.
The EUmies Awards are organised by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe with the support of the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.