EUROPEAN UNION PRIZE FOR CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE - MIES VAN DER ROHE AWARD

Architecture is a slow process that adapts to social, political and economic changes. The Prize takes this statement into account and pursues the following objectives - recognising and commending excellence in European architecture in conceptual, social, cultural, technical and constructional terms - highlighting the European city as a model of a smart and sustainable city, to promote transnational architectural commissions across Europe and abroad - to increase the involvement of architectural professionals from EU Member States and those countries which have an agreement with the EU - to cultivate future clients and developers - to find business opportunities in a wider global market - to highlight the European Union's involvement in supporting architecture as an important element reflecting both the diversity of European architectural expression and its role as a unifying element in defining a common European culture. The objectives of the Prize are to promote and understand the importance of quality and to reflect the complexity of the very significance of Architecture in terms of technological, constructive, social, economic, cultural and aesthetic achievements. The meaning of architecture - linked to the construction market - has a social impact and conveys a cultural message. Quality therefore refers to the universal values of generic buildings, regardless of their programmes: the essence of things rather than their formal values.