German study pavilion wins EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture 2024
The Study Pavilion on the campus of the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany, designed by architects Gustav Düsing and Max Hacke, has been crowned the winner of this year's EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture.
Revealed by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe and the European Commission, the German project is being rewarded for its innovative approach to sustainability and for creating a welcoming and interactive space for study, collaboration, and community gatherings.
Düsing and Hacke, who founded their studios in 2015 and won the competition for the study centre in 2015, are the youngest winners of the EUmies Architecture Prize.
The award will be presented to the architect duo on 14 May at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, along with a €60,000 cheque.
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The pavilion features an open space concept that facilitates various student activities through a flexible layout, described as a "counter-model to spaces of hierarchical knowledge transfer" by the foundation.
Another notable feature is the hybrid structure's capability to be disassembled and reassembled. Individual components can be reused in line with the "future material depot" principle, contributing to its role in the circular economy.
The building is being honoured "for its ability to challenge the constraints and imagery of sustainability" and for how "it has taken a clear architectural idea, scrutinised it, and pushed it to the limit."
Alongside the winning Study Pavilion, the Gabriel García Márquez Library in Barcelona claimed the Emerging Architecture Prize.
Since its opening last autumn, the five-story mass timber building designed by Madrid practice SUMA Arquitectura, has been embraced by local users and was awarded the title of Best Public Library in the World 2023 by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.
Recognising the threat posed by the online world to the traditional idea of a library as a space for community engagement, SUMA aimed to counter this effect with its design.
The ground floor reading spaces open onto the street, while the "ideas forum" spaces, which can be curtained off for privacy, are strategically placed to encourage engagement among local organisations or clubs.
The basement houses meeting and theatre spaces, as well as a local radio station; sensory rooms are located on the first-floor children’s level, and at the top of the light-filled atrium, adult spaces include multimedia and "concentration" rooms, terraces, and winter gardens.
The awards ceremony, set for 14 May 2024, will be held at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, marking the beginning of the Barcelona Architecture Weeks.
