European Architecture Prize goes to TU Braunschweig The Student House receives the EUmiesAward - EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture
The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe 2024 goes to the Student House of Technische Universität Braunschweig designed by the two architects Gustav Düsing and Max Hacke. The prize is considered the most prestigious European architecture award. The Student House has already been honoured with numerous other awards, including the German Architecture Prize 2023, the DAM Prize for Architecture in Germany 2024 and the Architecture Prize of the Association of German Architects (BDA) Lower Saxony.
The jury justified the award by stating that the building had succeeded in “pushing boundaries and preconceptions of sustainability, creating an inviting and playful environment for study, collaboration and gathering through a carefully crafted and unyielding structure. A clear architectural idea has been pursued, revised and pushed to its limits. It is more than a building, it is a versatile system that combines technological progress with a flexible and reusable principle.” With the architecture of the Student House, Technische Universität Braunschweig is promoting a new way of thinking in the current social, ecological and political context.
“I am very proud to have an international architectural beacon at TU Braunschweig in the form of the Student House, which has attracted so much attention throughout Europe”, says Angela Ittel, President of TU Braunschweig. “On the one hand, it is fantastic that the Student House is the result of a competition among our academic staff in the field of Architecture and, with its outstanding and forward-looking architecture, demonstrates the quality of architectural education at TU Braunschweig. On the other hand, the Student House is a building that exists solely for our students and, with its flexible possibilities as a place of learning, promotes cooperation and exchange in an outstanding way. A true flagship for TU Braunschweig as an attractive place to study.”
The Student House was selected from a total of 362 projects from 38 countries, including 36 from Germany, that were completed between April 2021 and May 2023 and entered the competition. In February this year, an international jury announced the five finalists, including the Student House as the only entry from Germany. The Student House is only the second university building to receive the award. In 2022, the Town House at Kingston University London won the EUmiesAward.
The latest award winners
The two Berlin architects Gustav Düsing and Max Hacke are the latest winners of the EUmiesAwards. Both architects worked as research associates in Architecture. In 2017, they won the internal competition organised by TU Braunschweig among the academic staff of the Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences.
The jury emphasised that the shortlisted and winning entries form an inseparable whole. They provide a better understanding of how contemporary architecture deals with sustainability, social equity, technological progress, health and well-being, cultural preservation, resilience and adaptation, economic feasibility and globalisation within an ethical and ideological as well as pragmatic practice.
In addition to the Mies van der Rohe Award, two other prizes for talented young architects were awarded. The winners were announced on 25 April at CIVA, the Centre for Information, Documentation and Exhibitions on the city, architecture, landscape and urban planning in Brussels, Belgium, as part of the European Conferences on Architectural Policies (ECAP) under the Belgian EU Council Presidency.
Award ceremony on 14 May in Barcelona
The award ceremony will take place on 14 May 2024 at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona as part of the EUmies Awards Days. The programme will include presentations by the winners and finalists, discussions with architects, building owners, political decision-makers and jury members, as well as an exhibition of the 362 buildings that took part in the EUmiesAwards 2024. The event marks the start of the Barcelona Architecture Weeks.
About the Mies van der Rohe Award
Every two years, the European Union and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation award this prize for contemporary architecture in recognition of outstanding achievements in European architecture. In addition to the main prize of 60,000 euros, a special prize of 20,000 euros is awarded to talented young architects.
Since 2001, the European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe have jointly awarded the prize every two years. The prize was first awarded in 1988 and was known as the “Mies van der Rohe Prize” until 1998. In the meantime, the more modern acronym “EUMiesAward” has become established.