Large-Scale Transformation, a New Sustainability Challenge. Kleiburg in Amsterdam, Grand Parc in Bordeaux

The Fundació Mies van der Rohe and the Cité de l’architecture & du patrimoine invite you on October 8 to the inauguration in Caen of the exhibition “Large-scale transformation, a new challenge for sustainability” which, after his stay in the Cité de l'architecture in Paris, continues its journey and is now presented at the Biennale d'architecture et d'urbanisme de Caen-Normandie "Living tomorrow, from the imaginary to the fact". An itinerary about collective housing guided by two winning works of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award that unfolds the complexity that surrounds this sort of large-scale housing blocks.

In 2017 the renovation of one of the biggest apartment buildings in the Netherlands called Kleiburg was awarded with the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award 2017. The Prize had never been won by a collective housing project until then. Two years later, the jury of that edition decided to award the 2019 Prize to the transformation of three social housing blocks in Bordeaux. In both cases, the existing buildings belonged to the wave of massive construction that happened in the 1960s in European cities. They are two successful survivors that escaped the wrecking ball. In the exhibition, these two main characters illustrate how strategic and sensible transformations are the way to avoid demolition.

The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award is granted every two years to acknowledge, reward  and debate quality architecture in Europe and while doing so, it creates an archive of Europe’s transformation. Organised by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe with the support of the European Commission - Creative Europe, and the participation of a widespread network, it offers both individuals and public institutions an opportunity to reach a clearer understanding of the cultural role of architecture in the construction of our cities.

Download the EUMiesAward App and follow the tour of all the works presented in the exhibition on the map!