Harpa Building

The Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik, by the Danish studio Henning Larsen Architects with the artist Olafur Eliasson and the local studio Batteríid won the 2013 Mies van der Rohe Award. The biennial award, endowed with 60,000 euros, acknowledges quality architectural production in Europe. The Harpa, with a striking facade that draws inspiration from the crystalline formations and the basaltic rocks of the Icelandic landscape, won over the other four finalists: the Market Hall in Ghent (Belgium) by Robbrecht & Daem with Marie-José Van Hee; Superkilen Urban Park in Copenhagen by BIG with Topotek1 and Superflex; the houses for the elderly in Alcácer do Sal (Portugal) by Aires Mateus; and the Metropol Parasol in Seville by Jürgen Mayer. Though there were no Spanish finalists in the main category, the jury of the prize, presided by Wiel Arets with Pedro Gadanho, Louisa Hutton, Kent Martinussen, Frédéric Migayrou, Ewa Porebska, Giovanna Carnevali and Antón García-Abril, presented the Emerging Architect Special Mention to Langarita & Navarro for the Red Bull Music Academy in Matadero Madrid.