The Charleroi Palais des Expositions (Chapex) is the first Belgian project to win the Mies van der Rohe Award, the European prize for contemporary architecture. The Brussels-based firm AgwA and architecten jan de vylder inge vinck from Ghent are being honored for their design for the transformation of the former convention center. Combined, this prestigious recognition goes to several colleagues, former colleagues, and alumni of the faculty.
The winning project was selected from more than 400 entries from across Europe. The design is a collaboration between AgwA, the Brussels firm of colleague Harold Fallon, and architects jan de vylder ingevinck from Ghent. The project was commissioned by the City of Charleroi. Doorzon Interieurarchitecten, led by Caroline Lateur and Stefanie Everaert, are also contributing to the realization of Chapex, as are landscape architect Denis Dujardin, Bureau Greisch, and Delta GC. Our sincere congratulations go out to our colleagues, alumni, and all other involved parties who contributed to this award-winning project.
Chapex is an industrial renovation and reinterpretation of the former Palais des Expositions from the 1950s. The international jury prize for Chapex is “intelligent and precise transformation.” “The project demonstrates how architecture can work with what already exists to create new spatial, social, and material possibilities,” stated the jury report. Instead of a sloop and replacement new construction, a careful transformation of the existing structure was chosen. The concrete structure was preserved and transformed into an open, publicly accessible infrastructure featuring covered urban terraces and a continuous landscaped park.
This edition, the prize for future architecture goes to the Slovenian firm Vidic Grohar Arhitekti for the temporary housing of the National Theatre Drama in Ljubljana. The project is being rewarded because, through the reuse of existing industrial elements and targeted, budget-friendly interventions, it has transformed a temporary situation into a sustainable cultural infrastructure.
The EUmies Awards ceremony will take place on May 11 and 12 in Barcelona. The prize is organised every two years by Fundació Mies van der Rohe with the support of the European Union’s Creative Europe programme. You can find more information about the winners of the EUmies 2026 here.