Mies Van der Rohe Award 2015 – the 5 finalists

2015 Mies Van der Rohe Award – the nominees

Mies van der Rohe Award is a term that everyone who loves modern architecture is very interested in. On February 25, 2015 it was announced again who the finalists are. They were five in all and were chosen from a short list of 40 projects.

Mies Van der Rohe Award 2015

The award ceremony will take place on May 8th this year and this will take place in Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion. The day before, the applicants will present their projects to the jury. But let’s see what the nominations are. Surely each of you would like to speculate a little about who might have the best chances. In the meantime, the jury won’t do anything else. But you will see everything up close. You go to all objects in order to check them personally for the necessary properties.

These are the 5 finalists

The reasoning

The Mies Van der Rohe Award was established in 2007. This is an initiative of the European Union, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation. It is regarded as one of the most important prizes for architecture on our continent. Projects that have been created in the last two years can particularly benefit from this. Earlier projects that have won this award are the Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Center in Reykjavik by the Danish architecture firm Henning Larsen in collaboration with the Icelandic practice Batteríið and the artist OlafurElíasson, as well as the Neues Museum in Berlin, designed by David Chipperfield Architects and Julian Harrap.

This year’s projects

Ravensburg Art Museum by Lederer Ragnarsdóttir Oei is the first nomination. Built in the historic city of Ravensburg, this project represents a symbiosis of old and new elements. It fits perfectly into the historic surroundings of the city. At the same time, however, it offers modern people all possible comforts.

Ravensburg Art Museum

The Danish Maritime Museum by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group in Helsinki is the next finalist. In recent years it has developed into the city’s new cultural center. It has been integrated into the city’s port facility. It looks like a divided path that stretches along the walls. The design also includes three bridges, each on two levels.

The Danish Maritime Museum

Integrated in the port facility of the city

Is also nominated Antinori Winery by Archea Associati (San Casciano Val di Pesa, Florence, Italy). This property is located between Florence and Siena, on the Chianti hills. The aim was to integrate this very modern property seamlessly into the rural surroundings.

Antinori Winery

Somewhere between Florence and Siena

Store wine barrels

An innovative wine cellar

The next example comes from Central Europe. It’s about the Szczecin Philharmonic (Polish: Szczecin) in Poland. Here, too, as with the other nominees, the successful reference to the architecture in the area seems to have played an important role. There are many ornamented neo-Gothic elements. There are also a number of voluminous classical buildings. Large ceiling lights in the upper area continue to enrich the look of the building.

The Szczecin Philharmonic in Poland

Modern architecture

Completely in white and slightly transparent

Saw Swee Hock Student Center from O’Donnell + Tuomey to London Business School is the fifth object that made it to the nomination. The architecture must symbolize the desire to transform this place into a center of scientific exchange. The movement inside and outside is visually welded together into one unit. This works thanks, among other things, to the fork-shaped structure of the brick arrangement. This is how you let more light come in. There is also the fascinating growing effect on the building at night.

Saw Swee Hock Student Center

Mimic movement

Fork-shaped structure of the brick arrangement

Let in more light