simon architecture prize

How do we transform urban scars into vibrant places for collective life? 🏙️

A 2020 winner in the Collective Places category, Can Sau - Emergency Scenery in Olot (Spain) by unparelld'arquitectes (Guillem Moliner Milhau), transforms a vacant plot left by street demolition into a porous, arched outdoor room that acts as a scenographic backdrop for public life.

Centered around three hollow-brick vaults and four niches built directly against an exposed party wall, the project connects the street to the adjacent church through an open, stepped framework designed for spontaneous community use.

Rather than acting as a static urban fill, the site embraces adaptive reinterpretation with relentless optimism. It creates an environment in flux where simple, everyday encounters are turned into rituals, offering a tribute to the essence of Olot's local heritage: street life, artisanal craft, and shared civic memory.

The accompanying video by Martí Pellicer and unparelld'arquitectes captures how the structural rhythm and integrated visual artwork by Q**m Domene foster intimacy, warmth, and a deep connection to both history and city life.

🔗  Architects, multidisciplinary teams, and citizens have until 14 September to nominate projects at simonprize.org

Simon Electric Fundació Mies van der Rohe

How do we celebrate the everyday rituals of living together?

A 2024 finalist in the Personal Places category, Petralona House in Athens (Greece) by Point Supreme (pointsupreme), extends a traditional ground-storey residence into a multi-layered home that lives and evolves like a small urban neighborhood.

Centered around an interior void with a tree at its heart that acts as an indoor courtyard, the project connects three distinct levels—garden, cave, and sky—through a vertical promenade of landings and platforms designed for spontaneous use.

Rather than feeling like a finished, staged product, the house embraces adaptive reuse with relentless optimism. It creates an environment in flux where simple, everyday moments are turned into rituals, offering a tribute to the essence of Athenian life: communal living, being social, and living outside.

The accompanying video by George Messaritakis (George Messaritakis) captures how the architectural richness of the house fosters intimacy, warmth, and a deep connection to both nature and city life.

🔗 The call for the 6th edition of the Living Places - Simon Architecture Prize is welcoming entries for works built in Europe, Mexico, Brazil, and Morocco. Explore the guidelines and nominate your project at simonprize.org

Simon Electric Fundació Mies van der Rohe Barcelona 2026 Capital Mundial de l'Arquitectura

Who creates a collective experience?

A 2024 finalist in the Collective Places category, the Communal Barbecue in Castell d’Aro (Girona, Spain) by h3o architects (h3o architects), transforms an abandoned asphalt parking lot into a re-naturalized space built for social connection.

Rooted in the Mediterranean tradition of communal eating as a driver of social cohesion, the intervention revolves around a pre-existing barbecue—now clad in traditional tiles and shaded by a pergola—alongside a zigzagging table that accommodates 50 people under the trees.

Positioned strategically next to the Greenway, the project bridges the rural and urban landscape. It turns a former "non-place" into an active garden where neighbors, cyclists, and visitors gather to share meals, stories, and moments of togetherness.

The accompanying video by Nina Amat () captures this evolving social dimension as it unfolds in the daily life of the space, showing how architecture can reimagine community spaces as engines of identity and connection.

🔗 The call for the 6th edition of the Living Places - Simon Architecture Prize is welcoming entries for works built in Europe, Mexico, Brazil, and Morocco. Explore the guidelines and nominate your project at simonprize.org

Simon Electric Fundació Mies van der Rohe Barcelona 2026 Capital Mundial de l'Arquitectura

We don't inhabit a house; we inhabit an ecosystem.

A 2022 finalist in the Personal Places category, 8 Protected Public Dwellings in Palma by (Institut Balear de l'Habitatge), demonstrates how public social housing can provide comfort while directly addressing energy poverty. 

The project utilizes local marès sandstone extracted just 18 km away to construct heavy stone barrel vaults that provide maximum thermal inertia. 

For insulation, 30 cm of sun-dried dead leaves of Posidonia oceanica were harvested from Cala Estància. 

Left exposed to regulate the island's high humidity, these hygrothermal materials tie the intimate comfort of the domestic space directly to the surrounding Mediterranean marine ecosystem.

🔗 Architects, multidisciplinary teams, and citizens have until 14 September to nominate projects at simonprize.org

Simon Electric Fundació Mies van der Rohe Barcelona 2026 Capital Mundial de l'Arquitectura

Beyond the prize: Discover the trophy 🏆

Winning the Living Places - Simon Architecture Prize means more than international prestige. Winners in both categories, Personal Places & Collective Places receive:

🔵 A €10,000 cash prize awarded directly to the creating architects.

🔵 The official prize trophy, custom-designed exclusively for this initiative by industrial designer Andreu Carulla () to reflect the true sense of inhabiting a space.

🔗 Discover past winning projects and learn how to submit at simonprize.org

Simon Electric Fundació Mies van der Rohe Barcelona 2026 Capital Mundial de l'Arquitectura

Who inhabits a place?

A 2022 finalist in the Collective Places category, the Ingá-Mirim Chapel (Itupeva, Brazil) by / Rodrigo Messala, challenges the traditional boundaries between private and public space.

Built by reinterpreting and reusing the materials of a 19th-century colonial estate, the project expands the definition of a community.

Over time, the open religious space has been embraced not just by the local farm workers, but by the local landscape itself—animals seek shelter within its stone walls, and native vegetation grows freely through the masonry joints.

It is a reflection on how architecture can foster a collective sense that is inherently more-than-human.

The call for the 6th edition of the Living Places - Simon Architecture Prize is welcoming entries for works built in Europe, Mexico, Brazil, and Morocco.

🔗 Explore the guidelines and nominate your project at simonprize.org

Simon Electric Fundació Mies van der Rohe Barcelona 2026 Capital Mundial de l'Arquitectura

What do you need to enter? 📋

Entering the Living Places - Simon Architecture Prize 2026 is
completely free. Once your project has been nominated, you can upload the following submission materials by 5 October:

🔵 The Video: A maximum 3-minute video capturing the real life and atmosphere of the space.

🔵 Descriptive Report: Written in English (max 500 words) describing the project and its category context.

🔵 Graphic Panel: A summary panel formatted to DIN A2 size.

🔵 Visual Documentation: A strict selection of exactly 6
plans/drawings and 6 professional photographs.

🔗 Download the complete submission checklist at simonprize.org

Simon Electric Fundació Mies van der Rohe Barcelona 2026 Capital Mundial de l'Arquitectura

Expanding horizons in architectural excellence 🌍

The 6th edition of the Living Places - Simon Architecture Prize welcomes outstanding designs from across the globe.

Eligible projects must be built within the following territories:

🇪🇺 Europe (detailed territory in the official rules)
🇲🇽 Mexico
🇧🇷 Brazil
🇲🇦 Morocco (included for the very first time!)

The prize is open to all architects residing in any country regardless of nationality or age.

🔗 Check the full list of eligible regions at simonprize.org

Simon Electric Fundació Mies van der Rohe Barcelona 2026 Capital Mundial de l'Arquitectura