Brussels Architecture Prize 2021 – The winners!

The winners of the first edition of Brussels Architecture Prize are announced! During the award ceremony held at Bozar, the winners were revealed to the public. Among the 31 nominated projects, the international jury chose four laureates, an up-and-coming talent for the Promising Young Architect Award and an emblematic Brussels firm for the Lifetime Achievement Award. Finally, an award from the public has been awarded for best performance among the nominated projects.

51N4E, Tetra architecten, 1010 architecture urbanism, XDGA – Xaveer De Geyter Architects, OSK-AR Architecten and BC Architects are laureates. Simone & Lucien Kroll won the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Brussels Architecture Prize is an initiative of the Brussels-Capital Region that is implemented by Urban in co-production with A+ Architecture in Belgium. Lisa De Visscher, artistic director of the A + Architecture in Belgium summed up the vision of the awards – “The prize is a way to present Brussels as a metropolis where established values and young architects have a chance to succeed. It shows Brussels as a laboratory of contemporary architecture and urban development, and as a source of inspiration for a city policy that goes far beyond the borders of the region”.

The winners:
Small Intervention: Stam of Europe – Act, 51N4E
Great intervention: Building material village – TETRA Architects
Public space : MolenWest Square – 1010 architecture urbanism
Extra Walls : Melopee – XDGA – Xaveer De Geyter Architects
Awards:
Promising Young Architect Award : BC Architects
Lifetime Achievement Award : Simone & Lucien Kroll
Public Vote : PORTA 1070 – OSK-AR Architects

According to Brussels State Secretary for Urbanism, Pascal Smet, Brussels is a cosmopolitan city which is full of confidence in the future and this must also be reflected in its architecture – “To further encourage quality architecture, the Brussels Region worked with A + for the organization of the first edition of Brussels Architecture Prize. I am delighted with this new wind which is undoubtedly blowing on the architectural landscape of the capital as well as the quality of the nominated projects. I am also pleased that we are able to award the Lifetime Achievement Award to Lucien and Simone Kroll for their superb career”, concludes Pascal Smet.

Bety Waknine, Managing Director of urban.brussels shared the vision behind these awards – “This first edition of the Brussels Architecture Prize represents for Urban the culmination of a project which was planned and desired for several years, with a clear and ambitious objective from the start: creating a quality architecture prize in Brussels, carried out under the gaze of an independent jury and with international experts. This objective responds more broadly to my desire to professionalize Urban and make it the center of expertise and an essential point of reference in our field. It was indeed imperative for me that Urban take a look at architecture, because through architecture we shape our built environment – and we impact the quality of life of citizens.”

Out of the 175 participating projects, an international jury selected 31, in four categories: Small intervention, Large intervention, Public space and Extra Muros. The members of the jury also chose a young office, a rising talent, for the Promising Young Architect Award. With the support of the award’s scientific committee, they also selected an architectural firm for the Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing an entire work. The models and films of the 31 nominated projects were presented during two months at an exhibition at SeeU, Ixelles. In collaboration with CIVA, four debates were organized with developers on current architectural themes, as well as a debate devoted to architectural policy. Additionally, the public was also able to speak for a public prize awarded to the best achievement among the nominated projects.

Read more about the awards on https://brusselsarchitectureprize.be/

To discover the winners and projects nominated, check the special issue of the A+ Architecture in Belgium entirely dedicated to the Brussels Architecture Prize: https://www.a-plus.be/fr/revue/brussels-architecture-prize