The European Collective Housing Award has selected the winners for the 2024 cycle. Created by the Basque Institute of Architecture and the Arc en Rêve Center d’Architecture, in collaboration with the Department of Spatial Planning, the award highlights innovation and excellence in design of collective housing, emphasizing aesthetics, social responsibility and environmental sustainability. Selected from a category of 171 entries from 19 European countries, the winners are La Borda Housing Collectie in Spain and Construction of a wine warehouse in housing in Switzerland for the new construction and renovation category respectively. The inaugural edition of the European Collective Housing Award recognizes the importance of collective housing in creating sustainable and inclusive communities, whilst also emphasizing the need to promote architectural excellence in this field.
Designed by Barcelona-based studio Lacol, the jury describes the new build category winner as an “excellent example of collective housing development in the city at every stage of the process”. Enabling the regeneration of the entire neighborhood, the project was selected due to its successful reimagining of living and living. The project prioritizes quality of life and introduces a new cooperative system as an alternative model for housing production, combining accessibility and quality.
In the “renovation” category, which encompasses reuse, adaptation and restoration, the winner is the Conversion of Wine Warehouse into Housing, designed by Esch Sintzel Architekten. The project “proves that communal and utilitarian buildings have value and can support creative new projects that bring additional life to the neighborhood.” The existing structure, initially an industrial wine warehouse, is complemented in a unique way, giving the place a new identity and a new life. Due to the challenges posed by the existing site conditions, the project challenges traditional forms of housing, presenting new ways of living and challenging standard typologies.
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Facing a series of challenges, collective housing projects are essential to respond to the housing needs of modern societies, promote sustainable development and promote inclusive and vibrant communities. The Basque Institute of Architecture, located in the heart of the historic center of San Sebastiàn, in northern Spain, aims to bring architecture closer to public citizenship. Focused on promoting the “culture of everyday architecture”, the institute believes in including the general public and facilitating access to larger audiences in the Basque region. Currently in the fourth edition of the International Architecture Biennale of the Basque Country, the institute’s initiatives merge architecture, landscape, urbanism, thought, research, housing, heritage, citizenship, civic enjoyment and public cooperation.
The jury, led by Pritzker Prize winner Anne Lacaton, is made up of various professionals, including architects, government officials, housing cooperative agents and philosophers. Jury members include Kristiaan Borret, professor of urban design at Ghent University; Emanuele Coccia, associate professor at EHESS, author and thinker; Fernanda Canales, architect and founder of Fernanda Canales Architecture (Mexico City); and Christian Hadaller, architect and co-founder of KOOPERATIVE GROSSSTADT eG.
Architecture awards play a vital role in highlighting innovation and pushing the boundaries of the industry. Likewise, the European Commission and Fundació Mies van Der Rohe have just selected the winners of the EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture 2024 / Mies van der Rohe. Similarly, New York-based architecture firm WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture was recently named the 37th winner of the Louis l Prize. Khan Award. Finally, the 1940s architectural marvel, Casa Sobre el Arroyo, has been awarded the 2024 Worlds Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize.
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