Grafton Architects, Ireland win Mies Van der Rohe Award 2022
Congratulations to Shelley McNamara and Yvonne Farrell, Grafton Architects, who were awarded the prestigious Mies Van der Rohe award 2022 on 12th May for their 'Town House - Kingston University' project.
The European Commission and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation announced the winners of the 2022 EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe Award and the 2022 Emerging Architecture Prize.
The first prize went to Grafton Architects, Dublin for the Town House, Kingston University, London. The Town House project of the Kingston University created by Grafton Architects was rewarded for its remarkable environmental quality that creates an excellent atmosphere for studying, dancing, gathering and being together. The winning authors, Grafton Architects, a studio co-founded in 1978 by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, have a strong expertise in educational buildings.
The Town House building creates an emotional experience from within and through the multi-level facade that creates a domestic atmosphere on different levels. It accommodates library, study and dance spaces using layers of silence and layers of sound which work perfectly well together. This is the first time that a university building won the architecture prize.
The 2022 Emerging Architect Prize was awarded for La Borda by Barcelona studio Lacol. La Borda is a housing cooperative in Barcelona, designed by Barcelona studio Lacol. This cooperative project is transgressive in its context because although housing production is mainly dominated by macroeconomic interests, in this case, the model is based on co-ownership and co-management of shared resources and capacities.