The Mies van der Rohe 2022 shortlist has been announced with just under a quarter of the projects representing collective housing.

The biennial award known as the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture recognises “excellence and innovation in the field of architecture” and draws attention to the “important contribution of architects in the development of new ideas”.

This year’s program also specifically focused on social inclusion, sustainability and circularity and aesthetic research.

Of the 40 projects shortlisted, Austria, France and Spain had five a piece, while Belgium, Germany and the UK had three a piece.

Denmark, Finland, Poland and Portugal each had two works, and the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Romania just one each.

This will be the last year projects in the UK will be eligible with Brexit signifying an end to the island nation’s participation in the prize.

In its announcement, the seven member jury panel chaired by Tatiana Bilbao and featuring Francesca Ferguson, Mia Hägg, Triin Ojari, Georg Pendl, Spiros Pengas and Marcel Smets said the inclusion and acceptance of diversity were tantamount.

“Many of the topics that came up corresponded to the aims of the New European Bauhaus – building a sustainable future through creativity, innovation and imagination,” added Bilbao.

“There was also a focus on reuse and circularity as a key form of sustainability; inclusion through collective and participatory processes that chart new approaches to urban development; and the use of materials, skills, and technology connected to aesthetic and general values.”

This year’s five finalists will be announced on 16 February 2022 with the winner to be crowned in Brussels in May 2022.

Collective Housing dominated the shortlist with nine works, followed by cultural buildings (seven), mixed use (six), educational (four), urban planning (two), sports and leisure, commerce, food, landscape, industrial, office and social welfare (one a piece).

High-profile projects included the David Chipperfield renovation of the Mies van der Rohe-designed Neue Nationalgalerie gallery in Berlin.

The only European building completed by the architect after he emigrated to the USA, the gallery opened in 1968 and was in need of both a refurbishment and modernisation.

Restricted by its status as a listed monument, the project follows the idea of the “invisible architect”, where any updates or modifications were subservient to van der Rohe’ original vision.

Also shortlisted was Petr Jandr’s revitalisation of the Prague waterfront, which transformed a series of vaults on the banks of the Vltava River into versatile public spaces.

While in the collective housing sector, Barcelona stood out with three projects – peris+toral.arquitectes’ 85 Habitatges Socials a Cornellà, which eliminates corridors to guarantee optimum use of the floor plan; Roldán+Berengué arqts’ Fabra & Coats & Habitatge Social, which reuses its physical, spatial and historical qualities to make the new construction more efficient; and Lacol’s Cooperativa d’habitatges La Borda, which describes itself as “decent, non-speculative housing”.

The 2021 Stirling Prize winner – Grafton Architects’ Kingston University London also made the cut for this year’s prize.

See the full list of shortlisted projects on the Mies van der Rohe website.

Lead photo: peris+toral.arquitectes’ 85 Habitatges Socials a Cornellà by Jose Hevia.