The 2026 Mies van der Rohe award distinguishes the rehabilitation of the Charleroi Exhibition Palace
In the Emerging Architecture category, the winner is the temporary space of the Slovenian National Theatre
BarcelonaThe portfolio of the Mies van der Rohe Award once again delves into the service vocation of architects and their capacity to respond to the environmental and social challenges of the current world. The winner of this year's edition, announced this Thursday in Oulu (Finland), is the renovation of the Charleroi Exhibition Palace convention center (Belgium), by AgwA (Brussels) and Architecten Jan de Vylder Inge Vinck (Ghent). This involves the rehabilitation of a 1950s building with a limited budget, in line with the trend that interventions on existing buildings have a lower environmental impact than demolition and new construction. The rehabilitation of the Charleroi Exhibition Palace has prevailed over the rehabilitation of the old Vapor Cortès for Prodis, by the Vallesano studio Harquitectes.
The jury has awarded the work of the Belgian studios for "the intelligent and precise transformation of a large existing exhibition building, which has shown how architecture can work with what already exists to generate new spatial, social, and material possibilities." Likewise, the jury recognizes the authors' eagerness to make a virtue of necessity. "Far from replacing, it reactivates the place by assuming its limitations, dialoguing with the intrinsic qualities of the building and developing a brave yet efficient approach that turns scarcity into opportunity and repair into a powerful project strategy," says the jury.
The backbone of the work is reduction: the architects dismantled the existing lobby, leaving the concrete skeleton and a series of covered outdoor spaces for visitors. Thus, around an open atrium, a three-level public square is organized, connected by monumental stairs. The chimneys and the exposed concrete structure evoke the industrial past of the place.
Three of the six halls function temporarily as parking, while the remaining ones host exhibitions, meeting rooms, and an auditorium. Another key was the soil demineralization, which resulted in a continuous green park.
The temporary space of the Slovenian National Theatre
In the Emerging Architecture category of the Mies van der Rohe award, the winner is the temporary space of the Slovenian National Theatre, by architects Vidic Grohar Arhitekti (Ljubljana), commissioned by developer L56 d.o.o. The project has been awarded for "its ability to transform a temporary condition into a powerful and lasting architectural statement by activating an abandoned industrial complex as a dynamic cultural infrastructure".
For the jury, this work includes "a series of precise, low-cost interventions" that redefine "the relationship between permanence and reuse and create a sequence of flexible and inclusive spaces that extend the city's cultural life, betting on material efficiency and adaptability".
"The winning projects demonstrate how architecture can transform our living environments into sustainable, inclusive and inspiring places," states the European Commissioner for Intergenerational Equity, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef. "Through creativity and collaboration, they face current challenges by turning limitations into opportunities and shaping a shared European future," he explains.