Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said.-
«I would like to congratulate all the architects who were nominated and the finalists in particular. We have an enormous wealth of talent in European architecture, which is a shining example of our dynamic cultural and creative sectors. At the same time, we recognise that the architecture industry faces significant challenges resulting from the economic slowdown. The European Commission and Mies van der Rohe Foundation are committed to supporting the sector which makes a significant contribution to the economy and job creation, as well as being a creator of beauty and force for cohesion for our society. We will continue to support architecture, including through this prize, through the future Creative Europe programme»
The jury members who selected the 2013 finalists are: Wiel Arets, Chair of the jury/Wiel Arets Architects, Maastricht; Pedro Gadanho, Curator of Contemporary Architecture, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; Antón García-Abril, Ensamble Studio, Madrid; Louisa Hutton, Sauerbruch Hutton Architects, Berlin; Kent Martinussen, CEO, The Danish Architecture Center (DAC), Copenhagen; Frédéric Migaryou, Director, Architecture & Design, Centre Pompidou, Paris; Ewa Porębska Editor-in-Chief, Architektura-murator, Warsaw; and Giovanna Carnevali, Secretary of the Jury/Director, Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona.
The five finalists are.-
- City Hall, Ghent, Belgium. Robbrecht en Daem architecten; Marie-José Van Hee architecten.
- Superkilen, Copenhagen, Denmark. BIG Bjarke Ingels Group; Topotek1; Superflex.
- Harpa - Reykjavik Concert Hall & Conference Centre, Reykjavik, Iceland. Batteríid architects; Henning Larsen Architects; Studio Olafur Eliasson
- House for Elderly People, Alcácer do Sal, Portugal. Aires Mateus Arquitectos
- Metropol Parasol, Seville, Spain. J. Mayer H.
