Today in Oulu, European Capital of Culture 2026, the winners of the EUmies Awards 2026 were announced at the Silo, a landmark of industrial architecture designed in 1931 by Alvar Aalto, during an event hosted by representatives of the European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe.
The winners were selected by an independent international jury following a rigorous evaluation process, including a jury trip to visit all finalist works across Europe, allowing for an in-depth understanding of their context, quality, and impact.
The 2026 Architecture Winner is the Renovation of the 1950s convention centre Charleroi Palais des Expositions in Wallonia, Belgium, by architects AgwA (Brussels) and architecten jan de vylder inge vinck (Ghent) - AjdvivagwA, commissioned by the City of Charleroi.Charleroi Palais des Expositions_Photo by FIlip Dujardin
It is awarded for its intelligent and precise transformation of an immense existing exhibition building, demonstrating how architecture can work with what is already there to unlock new spatial, social, and material possibilities. Rather than replacing, it reactivates the place embracing constraints, engaging with the building’s inherent qualities, and developing a bold yet resourceful approach that turns scarcity into opportunity and repair into a powerful design strategy.
The 2026 Emerging Architecture Winner is the Temporary Spaces for Slovenian National Theatre Drama by architects Vidic Grohar Arhitekti (Ljubljana). The client is L56 d.o.o.Temporary Spaces for Slovenian National Teatre Drama, ©Maxime Delvaux
It is awarded for its ability to transform a temporary condition into a powerful and lasting architectural statement, activating an abandoned industrial complex into a vibrant cultural infrastructure. Through a series of precise, low-budget interventions, the project redefines the relationship between permanence and reuse, creating a sequence of flexible and inclusive spaces that expand the city’s cultural life while embracing material resourcefulness and adaptability.
Following the jury visits to the shortlisted works, the jury engaged in extensive deliberation to identify the winners within a particularly strong and coherent group. Through intense exchanges and diverse positions, the jury recognised a shared direction among the finalists: an architecture that works with existing conditions, embraces constraints, and redefines the possibilities of transformation, reuse, and repair in the contemporary European context.
Among the finalists, several projects stand out for their capacity to engage with existing structures as living artefacts, opening new possibilities between permanence and change. They reveal parallel approaches to intervening in large-scale built environments, where working with what is already there becomes a driver for innovation and demonstrate how architectural intelligence can transform inherited structures into adaptable and meaningful infrastructures, capable of supporting new uses and collective experiences.
Taken together, the finalist and winning works form a coherent body of projects that reflects the key directions shaping contemporary architecture today: an architecture that accepts uncertainty, works with existing realities, and transforms constraints into opportunities. Together, they offer a critical and optimistic perspective on how architecture can address environmental, social, and economic challenges, not through excess, but through precision, resourcefulness, and a renewed understanding of the value of what already exists.
The winners were announced on 16th April at the Aalto Siilo in Oulu, in the context of the European Capital of Culture 2026.
The EUmies Awards Days including the Awards Ceremony, will take place on 11 and 12 May 2026, at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion and Palau Victòria Eugènia in Barcelona, in the context of the Barcelona World Capital of Architecture.
The EUmies Awards Days on 11 and 12 May, curated by the Post Like collective and open to the public, will include:
● the “EUmies Awards Talks” with Winners, Finalists, Shortlisted, clients, architecture media and people interested in discussing on the emerging topics highlighted by the jury;
● the “EUmies Awards 2026 exhibition” (11 May-6 July) with models, texts, videos, sketches and drawings of the 40 shortlisted works and a summary of all the nominees in the Palau Victòria Eugènia, Barcelona;
● the Awards Ceremony at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion and celebration;
● the Out & About programme, aimed at discovering architecture with the authors and promoters of the 40 shortlisted works who have been invited to organise events in their buildings and share their experiences with everybody. This programme is organised together with Guiding Architects.
The ‘EUmies Awards 2026’ exhibition will embark on its tour around Europe once it ends in Barcelona.
The EUmies Awards are organised by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe with the support of the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
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Press release and photos courtesy of Fundació Mies van der Rohe - Press Office
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