Neues Museum wins Mies van der Rohe award

British architect David Chipperfield has been named the winner of the 2011 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, also known as the Mies van der Rohe Award, for his revamp of Berlin's Neues Museum.

Chipperfield beat out competition from practices including Zaha Hadid, Jean Nouvel, and Bernard Tschumi, and will officially receive his prize at an award ceremony at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, Spain on June 20.

The honor, bestowed by the EU every two years, comes one and a half years after the museum reopened to the public in October 2009.

Jury chair Mohsen Mostafavi said: "The rebuilding of the Neues Museum is an extraordinary achievement. Rarely have an architect and client succeeded in undertaking a work of such historic importance and complexity; especially one that involves both preservation and new building."

Chipperfield, who was also honored with the Royal Institute of British Architecture's gold medal this year, added: "The reconstruction of the Neues Museum is a testament to the collaborative process undertaken in a demanding climate of public opinion. The result is evidence not only of the efforts of the professional team but of the commitment of the client and the city authorities to engage in this rigorous and articulated process."

http://www.miesarch.com