Charleroi Palais des Expositions revamp wins Mies van der Rohe Award 2026
A 1950s convention centre revitalised by architecture studios AgwA and Architecten Jan de Vylder Inge Vinck has been awarded this year's Mies van de Rohe Award.
The seven-year transformation by AgwA and Architecten Jan de Vylder Inge Vinck prioritised the conservation of the 50,000-square-metre Charleroi Palais des Expositions, which was originally completed in 1954.
It was selected as the 2026 winner of the Mies van der Rohe Award's architecture category in recognition of its "bold yet resourceful approach", the jury said.
"It is awarded for its intelligent and precise transformation of an immense existing exhibition building, demonstrating how architecture can work with what is already there to unlock new spatial, social, and material possibilities," said the panel.
"Rather than replacing, it reactivates the place embracing constraints, engaging with the building's inherent qualities, and developing a bold yet resourceful approach that turns scarcity into opportunity and repair into a powerful design strategy."
The Mies van der Rohe Award is bestowed biennially by the European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe. Charleroi Palais des Expositions was selected as the 2026 winner from the five finalists in the architecture category.
Interventions by the studios included removing facades in the central hall to create a covered outdoor spaces and converting its south wing into a multi-storey car park.
Alongside the main architecture award, this year's emerging architecture prize winner has also been announced. It was won by a theatre in Slovenia designed by architecture studio Vidic Grohar Arhitekti.
Contained within a series of former industrial buildings in Ljubljana, the Temporary Spaces for Slovenian National Theatre Drama was established over years of gradual low-budget architectural interventions by the studio.
It was praised by the jury for its role in creating a "vibrant cultural infrastructure" for the local community.
"It is awarded for its ability to transform a temporary condition into a powerful and lasting architectural statement, activating an abandoned industrial complex into a vibrant cultural infrastructure," the awarding body said.
"Through a series of precise, low-budget interventions, the project redefines the relationship between permanence and reuse, creating a sequence of flexible and inclusive spaces," it added.
The Mies van der Rohe Award was founded in Barcelona in 1988 to recognise the best architectural projects in Europe.
Other projects shortlisted for this year's prizes included a 19th-century train depot-turned-design lab by studios Assemble and BC Architects in Arles, France and a retrofit development by H Arquitectes in Spain.
Members of this year's jury, chaired by Chilean architect and 2026 Pritzker Architecture Prize-winner Smiljan Radić, praised how the projects each created "meaningful spaces for people".
The awards ceremony will take place on 11 and 12 May at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion and Palau Victòria Eugènia in Barcelona.
Previous winners of the award include the steel-framed Study Pavilion by architects Gustav Düsing and Max Hacke and the Town House university building in London by Grafton Architects.
The photography is by Filip Dujardin unless otherwise stated.
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