Housing Transformation Wins 2019 EU Mies Award

The project, designed by Lacaton & Vassal architectes with Frédéric Druot Architecture and Christophe Hutin Architecture, is the renovation of three large apartment buildings in Bordeaux, France, for AQUITANIS, the home public office of Bordeaux Métropole. The Grand Parc Bordeaux project added 4-meter deep "winter gardens" to the facades of the social housing buildings dating to the 1960s. Completed in 2017, the transformation cost 50,000€ per dwelling and was done without any residents being displaced during construction nor with any rent increases. The project also consisted of a rooftop addition providing more apartments.

Today's announcement came two months after five finalists were announced for the 2019 Prize and the jury subsequently visited each building in person. The jury was chaired by Dorte Mandrup and consisted of George Arbid, Angelika Fitz, Ștefan Ghenciulescu, Kamiel Klaasse, María Langarita and Frank McDonald.

Transformation of 530 Dwellings - Grand Parc Bordeaux is the second time a housing project has received the EU Mies Award. It follows the 2017 winner, DeFlat Kleiburg, the renovation of one of the largest apartment buildings in the Netherlands.

The 2019 Emerging Architecture prize has been awarded Toulouse, France's BAST for the School Refectory in Montbrun-Bocage, Haute-Garonne. Designed for the commune of Montbrun-Bocage, the canteen extends the existing school for 61 pupils and defines a courtyard, while still allowing views of the surroundings.

The jury was "drawn by the extremely precise implementation and design decisions which make the refectory a remarkable project built on a relatively small budget. The work was done with extreme humbleness, taking into account the context of the village and the immediate landscape, thereby creating a very respectful work of architecture."

The awards ceremony will take place on May 7 at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, which will be celebrated as EU Mies Award Day.