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The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture

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"...Architecture starts with carefully laying two bricks. Architecture is a language with the disipline of a grammar. In an everyday context one might use language like prose and if you are excellent you will become a poet."
Mies van der Rohe

Task

The studio will prepare designs for an architecture museum and conference facilities for the Foundation Mies van der Rohe in Barcelona, Spain. The building site will be in the vicinity of the reconstructed Barcelona pavilion by Mies van der Rohe, east of Plaa de l'Univers.

The Foundation Mies van der Rohe was set up in 1983 by the Barcelona City Hall with the initial purpose of reconstructing the German Pavilion, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) for the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition.

Besides conserving and disseminating knowledge about the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, the Foundation today also fosters debate on and awareness of themes related to contemporary architecture and urban planning, as well as encouraging studies on the work of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and on the Modern Movement. In accordance with these objectives, the Foundation organizes awards, congresses, conferences, exhibitions, workshops and installations.

Outstanding among these activities is the organization, jointly with the European Commission, of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award, one of the most prestigious of all European architecture prizes.

The original Barcelona pavilion was meant to be a reception space only and is therefore lacking appropriate spaces for the current purpose such as jury meetings, lectures, archival and administration areas.

The Barcelona pavilion is located in the foreground of one of two symmetrical palace buildings - Palau de Victoria Eugenia and Palau d'Alfons XIII - aligning the axis of a main scenic promenade originating from Plaa d'Espanya.

The envisioned new museum will be located on the corresponding side to the Barcelona pavilion in front of the Palau d' Alfons XIII. Currently the site is occupied by a brick building in use for a police station. The existing building could be refurbished for the new purpose or demolished.