Mies van der Rohe Award winners showcase bold architectural visions in Prague

Explore how Czechia and Europe’s most innovative public buildings are reshaping urban spaces at CAMP’s latest architectural exhibition.

Expats.cz Staff

Written by Expats.cz Staff Published on 28.01.2025 16:30:00 (updated on 28.01.2025) Reading time: 2 minutes

A new exhibition at Prague’s CAMP center is spotlighting the best of European architecture, featuring 362 projects from 38 countries nominated for the prestigious Mies van der Rohe Award. The showcase, which runs from Jan. 29 to March 9, highlights how publicly funded buildings—from libraries to schools and art galleries—are reshaping urban spaces and addressing societal needs.

The Mies van der Rohe Award, presented biennially by the European Union and Barcelona’s Fundació Mies van der Rohe, celebrates innovative and sustainable architecture. This year’s finalists include a vertical school in Madrid, a revitalized slaughterhouse-turned-art-gallery in Ostrava, and a community-focused library in Barcelona.

“Among the finalists, there are only public buildings this year,” said Ondřej Boháč, director of Prague’s Institute of Planning and Development (IPR). “This shows that the best architecture in Europe often emerges from public funding, whether a city or state project. Many of these works also prioritize sustainability and creating high-quality spaces where people love to gather.”

Photo: CAMP Praha
CAMP Praha

Standout projects include libraries and art galleries

The exhibition features standout projects such as the Gabriela García Márquez Library in Barcelona, which reimagines the surrounding neighborhood as a vibrant public space; a study pavilion at TU Braunschweig in Germany that challenges ideas about sustainability; and Ostrava’s historic slaughterhouse, now transformed into the Plato contemporary art gallery.

Reggio School in Madrid
Reggio School in Madrid

Other highlights include a vertical school on the outskirts of Madrid that combines bold aesthetics with ecological restoration and a mystical garden in Lund, Sweden, which preserves nature in a rapidly urbanizing area.

The display includes photography, blueprints, models, and videos to tell the stories behind the designs, offering visitors a multilayered look into the innovative solutions architects are implementing across Europe.

Czech contributions highlighted

The Prague leg of the traveling exhibition, which has already visited Madrid and Vienna, focuses on Czech contributions. Among them is the reconstructed Plato Ostrava gallery, which reached the finals in 2024. The exhibition also features an interactive projection detailing all 362 nominated works, including 128 Czech projects.

Although no Czech project has won the award, 2024 marked a milestone as Ostrava’s Plato gallery, designed by KWK Promes, became a finalist.

Plato. Photo: Jakub Certowicz
Plato Art Gallery in Ostrava

The exhibition’s opening on Jan. 29 will feature Anna Ramos, director of the Mies van der Rohe Foundation, and architect Guillermo Sevillano of SUMA Arquitectura, who will discuss the design of the Gabriela García Márquez Library. The event is part of CAMP’s Urban Talks lecture series.

Additional programming includes an English-friendly screening of More than a Museum, a documentary about the construction of the new Munch Museum in Oslo, guided tours, and a focus on Prague 7’s town hall, a past nominee for the award.

“This exhibition showcases the work of architects who fully embrace the potential of what architecture can offer society,” Ramos said. “It’s a true reflection of contemporary European architecture.”

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German-American architect, academic, and interior designer. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern architecture.

Visitors can explore the exhibition from Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, visit praha.camp. Entry is free.

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