EUmies Awards Days 2026: a conference on reuse as a catalyst for change with AgwA

On 11 and 12 May 2026, Barcelona will host a new edition of the EU Mies Awards Days, held between the Palau Victòria Eugènia and the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion.

Rather than approaching reuse as a purely technical or regulatory matter, the cycle On Reuse. Critical Frameworks for Working with the Existing proposes to frame it as a critical design approach, structured around several positions: economy of means, cultural production, adaptability and transformation.

AgwA invited to share its approach to reuse

The Brussels-based office AgwA has been invited to take part in the session “Reuse as Transformation”, alongside architecten jan de vylder inge vinck, the City of Charleroi, and Ruby Press, publisher of the book Take On Add Away – A Transformation of the Palais des Expositions Charleroi.

The focus of this session is not so much optimisation as requalification:

• working with the existing as an active material;
• shifting design logics towards subtraction, revelation and reconfiguration;
• considering the building as an evolving structure rather than a fixed object.

This position is clearly embodied in the CHAPEX (Palais des Expositions de Charleroi) project, where the intervention relies on a precise reading of the existing structure to activate its potential, rather than reprogramming it through addition.

EU Mies Awards Days 2026: two days of public events

The EU Mies Awards Days 2026 form a two-day programme of public events bringing together the winners and finalists of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award, along with their clients, collaborators and guests.

The programme offers multiple readings of reuse — economy of means, cultural production, adaptability, transformation — understood as distinct design positions.

Through lectures, roundtables and workshops, participants share situated approaches connected to the material, social and economic contexts in which their practices operate.

Alongside conferences and exhibitions, the programme extends into the city through visits, informal gatherings and moments of exchange.

Check the full programme and take part in the activities.

Award ceremony

Conceived as an open platform, the EU Mies Awards Days go beyond the award itself to create a broader space for exchange, inviting professionals, students and the public to collectively reflect on the current and future challenges of the built environment.

Wallonie-Bruxelles Architectures will be present at the EU Mies Awards 2026 ceremony, held at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion on 12 May.