Neues Museum Berlin wins 2011 Mies van der Rohe Award

The Neues Museum in Berlin is the winner of the 2011 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award, the European Commission and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation announced on 11 April 2011. The building is a reconstruction, blending old and new, by UK architect Sir David Chipperfield. The 'Emerging Architect Special Mention' award goes to Ramon Bosch and Bet Capdeferro for the Collage House in Girona, Spain. The award ceremony will take place on 20 June at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona.

Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said: "My congratulations to our winners who have created two exceptional buildings. The Neues Museum brings the past and present together in an stunning mix of contemporary architecture, restoration and art. The Collage House in Girona is another remarkable renovation which fuses old and new materials in a harmonious whole."

Neues Museum Berlin. Image: © Jörg von Bruchhausen

For the statement of David Chipperfield, there is a video available; Click here (www.miesarch-com/...) for a view.

The original Neues Museum, designed by Friedrich August Stüler, was built in the mid-19th century. The building was severely damaged in the Second World War and reconstruction began in 2003, with the aim of restoring the site to its former glory. David Chipperfield, who worked on the project in collaboration with fellow British architect Julian Harrap, adopted a dynamicapproach in his restoration. Rather than attempting to conceal the difference between the old and new elements, the past and present are beautifully combined to create an unforgettable building with multiple layers.

David Chipperfield, Principal of David Chipperfield Architects, said: "The reconstruction of the Neues Museum is a testament to the collaborative process undertaken in a demanding climate of public opinion. The result is evidence not only of the efforts of the professional team but of the commitment of the client and the city authorities to engage in this rigorous and articulated process."

Mohsen Mostafavi, Chair of the jury, said: "The rebuilding of the Neues Museum is an extraordinary achievement. Rarely have an architect and client succeeded in undertaking a work of such historic importance and complexity; especially one that involves both preservation and new building. The project raises and addresses many aesthetic, ethical, and technical issues. It is an exemplary demonstration of what collaboration can achieve in the context of contemporary European architectural practice."

Lluís Hortet, Director of the Mies van der Rohe Foundation, said: "The decision of the jury was an extraordinary challenge due to the high quality of all the finalist projects. The Neues Museum by David Chipperfield is a very important statement of how a contemporary architectural intervention contributes to the re-use of our heritage by improving its functional qualities and introducing outstandingly designed new architectorial elements for its museological purpose."

The winner of the Prize was selected from a shortlist of six finalists, which have been shortlisted from 343 works in 33 European countries.:
Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth commented:"Our finalists have two things in common - they are European and they are among the world's most visionary architects. The EU Prize celebrates their talent and showcases the economic, social and cultural importance of our creative industries", said

The 6 finalists have been:
Neues Museum Berlin, Germany
David Chipperfield rchitects / David Chipperfield

Concert House Danish Radio Copenhagen. Image: © Philippe Ranault

Bronks Youth Theatre Brussels, Belgium
MDMA - Martine De Maeseneer Architecten / Martine De Maeseneer, Dirk Van den Brande

MAXXI: Museum of XXI Century Arts Rome, Italy
Zaha Hadid Architects / Zaha Hadid, Patrick Schumacher, Gianluca Racana

Concert House Danish Radio Copenhagen, Denmark
Ateliers Jean Nouvel / Jean Nouvel

Acropolis Museum Athens, Greece
Bernard Tschumi Architects / Bernard Tschumi

Acropolis Museum Athens. © Christian Richters

Rehabilitation Centre Groot Klimmendaal Arnhem, The Netherlands
Architectenbureau Koen van Velsen / Koen van Velsen

As well as highlighting excellence in contemporary buildings, the Prize highlights the contribution of European architects to the development of new ideas and technologies in urban development. Launched in 1987 and co-funded by the EU Culture Programme and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation, the €60.000 prize is the most prestigious award in European architecture and is awarded every other year to works completed within the previous two years. This year's ceremony is the 12th to take place since its launch.

Collage House. Image: © Jos Hevia

Emerging Architect Special Mention
Collage House
Girona, Spain
Ramon Bosch, Bet Capdeferro
bosch.capdeferro arquitectures

Located in the historical centre of the city of Girona, this project is composed of a series of dilapidated buildings that had been built over time. From the beginning, the architects realized that the big and old stone shells, which had been designed to establish an optimum relationship in terms of both the place and climate, offered unsurpassable conditions in which to live. Spatially, the relevance of the patios was especially important as centres of gravity for the interior. Slightly irregular geometries were adopted because they were capable of being discreetly enhanced within the original skeleton and the use of a vertical compositional pattern in all the new interventions gave a sense of unity as well as helping to emphasize the height clearance of the different floors of the building.

In terms of energy it was only necessary to potentiate the great quality and efficiency of the existing passive systems and with sufficient solar protection in summer and the addition of radiant flooring in winter, the house attains a high grade of thermal comfort. With respect to the materials the house itself provided an extremely valuable heritage in that grilles, mosaics and stones were available for reuse and continuity of the constructional language of the old neighbourhood was reflected by the simple mortar facings and stuccowork.

Jury
Works nominated for the Prize are put forward by independent experts from all over Europe; as well as the member associations of the Architects' Council of Europe, national architects' associations, and the Advisory Committee for the Prize. The jury members who selected the finalists for 2011 are:
Mohsen Mostafavi, Chair of the jury/Dean, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA; Ole Bouman, Director, Nederlands Architectuurinstituut, Rotterdam; Yvonne Farrell, Grafton Architects, Dublin; Annette Gigon, Gigon/Guyer, Zürich; Anne Lacaton, Lacaton& Vassal Architectes, Paris; Tarald Lundevall, Architect, SNØHETTA, Oslo; Pei Zhu, Beijing, China, and Lluís Hortet, Secretary of the jury/Director of the Fundació Mies van der Rohe.

The complete list of 343 works nominated by country:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Irelan, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, Turkey and United Kingdom.

The principal objectives of this European initiative, supported in the framework of the EU Culture Programme, are to recognise and commend excellence in the field of architecture and to draw attention to the important contribution of European professionals in the development of new ideas and technologies in the field of urban development. The finalist works are a strong illustration of how architecture contributes to building a creative, inclusive and forward-looking Europe, in line with the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy.

Further Information:
European Commission
web: http://ec.europa.eu/culture/our-programmes-and-actions/doc1103_en.htm

Mies van der Rohe Foundation
web: http://www.miesarch.com