Barcelona Architecture Week
From 12 May to 28 June, Barcelona held the 2025 Architecture Weeks. This is a 7-week version of the annual event organised by the city to reinforce the essential link between architecture and citizenship. This year’s Architecture Weeks is a continuation of an initiative that has been consolidated since 2017, and now the programme has been extended to allow the participation of many more entities and to promote throughout the city the dissemination of architectural activity, knowledge, experience and debate.The Architecture Weeks is an initiative open to the presence and collaboration of entities dedicated to the dissemination of architecture, as well as a representation of different social, cultural and artistic disciplines. Over the course of the different editions, more than a hundred institutions, organisations, associations and independent experts from our city and around the world have actively contributed, bringing architecture to the public, discovering spaces and transformations in the city.
The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Awards (EUmies Awards), founded in 1988 in Barcelona by Fundació Mies van der Rohe and the European Union’s programme to support the cultural and creative sectors, are annual awards recognizing excellence in built works of architecture in Europe (Architecture and Emerging) and final diploma works by recently graduated architects (YoungTalent).
The EUmies Awards Architecture and Emerging categories take place on odd-numbered years, in turn with the Young Talent category that takes place on even-numbered years. Following the ceremonies, the results of the jury discussions and decisions are thoroughly disseminated worldwide through exhibitions, debates, publications, on-site visits and documentaries on each edition and also on different topics such as housing, waterfronts or territorial scopes, through the use of the archive and collection that has been built since 1988.
We are (on) an Island by METASITU
The EUmies Awards archive is a valuable source of high-quality architectural works, many of which are the result of competitions. As part of LINA and within the research process for an exhibition by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe on European architecture in island territories, Liva Dudareva and Eduardo Cassina, from METASITU, were invited to explore the specific characteristics of construction on European islands. Their previous work on degrowth, resources and their connection to life on islands, made it a perfect match.One of the most significant findings they identified is that 75% of the works that most attracted the juries and were selected, shortlisted, or awarded, resulted from competitions. Nearby examples of this phenomenon include public housing projects in the Balearic Islands and Catalonia.
Architecture competitions in Europe facilitate architects’ ability to overcome cross- border barriers, particularly benefiting small practices. However, participation in international competitions remains low. For this reason, European initiatives such as ARCH-E seek to make competitions more accessible, integrating the fundamental principles of the Davos Declaration and Baukultur, as defined by the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE).
On May 16 at 1:00 p.m., Liva Dudareva and Eduardo Cassina presented the results of their research on the EUmies Awards architectures built on islands. Afterwards, Eva Álvarez and Carlos Gómez, architects and researchers from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, and authors of the ARCH-E reports and publications, introduced the platform and their conclusions.
The subsequent discussion also featured Josep Maria Borrell, director of IMPSÒL, and Eduard Cabré, international advisor to the IMHAB management team — two institutions that have been key in promoting architectural quality through public competitions.
Competitions not only foster architectural excellence, but also encourage sustainable building practices, create job opportunities, and contribute to the enhancement of the European urban and territorial landscape. This meeting will offer an opportunity to delve into the aspects that can still be improved and how to facilitate better integration at the European level.
