AHI European Award 2023 honours inclusive and sustainable interventions

The AHI European Award strives to recognise excellence in European architectural and heritage landscape. The award—a biennial event—was born out of the conviction that, in the current context, architectural heritage is not only a key instrument of knowledge but also a socio-economic resource of the first order for the sustainable development of territories. The latest edition of the award, the sixth edition, recognised interventions carried out with sustainability and inclusivity criteria in social housing and urban cultural facilities. The architecture-award had four categories—built heritage, exterior spaces, urban planning and disclosure. This year, the AHI European Award also included two special mentions chosen from the submitted projects, one for restoration and a newly created one, the New European Bauhaus.

The ceremony was held on June 1, 2023, at the Sant Pau Art Nouveau site in Barcelona. The event was organised by the Barcelona-based platform AHI (Architectural Heritage Intervention) and the Architects’ Association of Catalonia, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Government of Catalonia, Barcelona City Council and the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. Celebrating 12 years of the award, a staggering 241 projects by architectural firms from 28 European countries were submitted.

Here are the winners of the 2023 edition of the award.

Built Heritage Award

Restoration of Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie by David Chipperfield Architects

The award for the Built Heritage category is given to the restoration of Berlin's Neue Nationalgalerie by the British firm David Chipperfield Architects, the architectural practice of 2023 Pritzker Architecture Prize winner, David Chipperfield. The building by architect Mies Van der Rohe—one of the pioneers of modern architecture—was built for housing the 20^th century art collection of the city of Berlin and is a shining example of the Modern movement. The jury considers that the intervention returns the building to its original state, in such a way that "it is almost as if nothing has happened in order for everything to happen. It is a meticulous intervention down to the very last technical detail, resulting in a powerful architectural statement. It represents architecture, heritage and intervention at their finest."

The finalists for the Built Heritage category—chosen by the international jury made up of architects Dekkie Scipio, Susana Valbuena and Kimmo Lintula—consisted of the Wintercircus Mahy by Atelier Kempe Thill, aNNo architects, Baro Architecture, SUM Project, Bijloke Concert Hall by DRDH Architects, Julian Harrap Architects, City Hall of Antwerp by HUB, Origin, Bureau Bouwtechiek, and Unió de Cooperadors by Meritxell Inaraja.

Exterior Spaces Award

The ecological restoration of the garden of El Tanque Cultural Space, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, by Fernando Menis

The ecological restoration of the garden of El Tanque Cultural Space, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, by the Spanish architect Fernando Menis is the winning entry in the Exterior Spaces category. El Tanque is set in a post-industrial area that has been a listed heritage site since 2014. The ecological restoration has provided the Cabo Llanos neighbourhood in Santa Cruz de Tenerife with its first green public space. As per the jury citation, the project “works with ecology and heritage to offer a creative, cultural and socially inclusive public space. The project demonstrates sensitivity at all scales, including in the reuse of industrial waste for the design of furniture and lighting.”

The finalists of the Exterior Spaces category—chosen by the jury comprising architects Chris Rankin, Pasqual Herrero and Maria Viñé—consisted of Last Chance for a Slow Dance by Behark, Gasworks Area by Sweco, Rec Comtal in Vallbona by Carles Enrich Studio, Spaces "Viewpoint Aljibes" by WaterScales arquitectos.

Urban Planning Award

The regeneration of the Gràcia neighbourhoods of Barcelona, undertaken by the Jornet Llop Pastor Arquitectes office in conjunction with the Department of Urban Planning of Barcelona City Council

The award in the Urban Planning category is given to the project for the regeneration of the Gràcia neighbourhoods of Barcelona, undertaken by the Jornet Llop Pastor Arquitectes office in conjunction with the Department of Urban Planning of Barcelona City Council. The jury praised the winning project for its “innovative proposal for addressing the challenges of contemporaneity, climate change and social inclusivity through affordable housing within the historical context of its location.” As per them, “the project transfers the principles of the conservation of built heritage to urban structure, to the ordinary urban landscape, and proposes an urban planning regulation that incorporates the environmental dimension.”

The finalists for the Urban Planning category—chosen by the jury comprising architects Sara Bartumeus, Maria Chiara Tosi and Carlo Atzeni—consisted of De Meelfabriek - Renovated Factory Masterplan by Studio Akkerhuis Architects, Ecodistricte laMercedes by Batlleiroig, Barri de Las Flores by Territoris XLM, BCQ Arquitectura.

Disclosure Award

“La vie en kit, une aventure architecturale”, by the Belgian architect and filmmaker Elodie Degavre

The winning entry for the Disclosure category is “La vie en kit, une aventure architecturale”, by the Belgian architect and filmmaker Elodie Degavre. The film is based in the 1070s and tells the story of how four architects thought about the houses of the future, creating eclectic projects in the cities of Brussels, Charleroi and Liège, to put dwellers and their needs at the centre of the construction process. The film was co-produced by Radio Télévision Belge Francophone (RTBF). The jury commended the project for “the unique nature of its subject matter, which allows us to discover the little-known story of a group of architects who adopted a utopian and idealistic approach, and whose way of understanding architecture has gained relevance today.” The jury also highlighted the variety of shots and angles used in the documentary, particularly its successful transmission of the “compactness and functionality of the architecture it shows.”

The finalists for this award—chosen by the jury made up of the architects Devi, Kituashvili, Nicola Regusci and Verena von Beckerath—consisted of KANAL: THINKING / #1 by Atelier Kanal. Editors: Stephen Bates, An Fonteyne, El Tanque Cultural Space - History of a Citizen´s Battle for Art by Asociación Cultural de Amigos del Espacio Cultural El Tanque, Documentary: The Secrets of the Abastos Market in Santiago de Compostela by Ruth Varela and The Escandinavia Project by Andriette Ahrenkiel, Sara López, Arraiza Nacho and Ruiz Allén.

Special Mention - New European Bauhaus

The Jury for the New European Bauhaus (NEB) special award consisted of the directors of the award—architects Ramon Calonge, Oriol Cusidó, Marc Manzano and Jordi Portal. Together with MEP Marcos Ros, they awarded a special mention to the the conversion of an office building in Sant Feliu de Llobregat into an emergency social housing unit of 34 dwellings, carried out by the MIM-A office (by architects Mariona Benedito and Martí Sanz).

The jury lauded the conversion for “perfectly combining and reflecting all the values of the New European Bauhaus: sustainability, thanks to the improvement and optimisation of the envelopes to achieve better energy efficiency and natural lighting; beauty, through the improvement of the built surface; and inclusivity, inherent to emergency housing, in this case achieving living spaces of the highest quality with a great economy of means.” The conversion project, they add, “is an excellent response—elegantly and efficiently resolved—to the current social demand.”

The other winning entry of this special mention is the Master Plan for the Integrated Restoration of the Neighbourhood of Las Flores in A Coruña by architectural firms Territoris XLM and BCQ Arquitectura. The jury cited the project as being “an inspiration, whose most valuable aspect is the integrated and social nature of the proposal, which addresses a widespread problem throughout Europe by proposing innovative solutions that favour a sector of the population—the elderly—deserving of special attention.”

Special Mention – Restoration

Architects Ramon Calonge, Oriol Cusidó, Marc Manzano and Jordi Portal, the directors of the award, with architect Pedro Rodríguez Cantalapiedra, formed the jury of the Restoration Special Mention. They awarded this Special Mention to the restoration project of the Gruuthusemuseum in Bruges, Belgium, a project carried out by the B-juxta architecten office.

The project has been highlighted for its three key aspects that make it unique: “its methodology, encompassing every aspect from the analysis of historical documentation to the detail of finishes and final materials; the construction and decorative techniques employed following the original lines, in relation to the volume of the work; and, lastly the sincere and clear approach to the project, maintaining the previous elements and colours, contributing to its permanence and conservation.”