AgwA shortlisted for the 2026 EUmies Awards

Palais des Expositions de Charleroi among the 40 shortlisted European projects

In early January, the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Awards 2026 unveiled the list of 40 shortlisted projects, selected from more than 400 nominations across Europe. This selection offers a demanding overview of recent European architecture, with a strong focus on the transformation of the existing built environment, social impact and environmental responsibility.

Among the shortlisted projects, one is led by an office active in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation: the renovation and transformation of the Charleroi Exhibition Palais, designed by AgwA in collaboration with Architecten Jan de Vylder Inge Vinck.

At the end of the previous stage of the selection process, seven projects from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation had been retained at the European level. The publication of this second, more selective list therefore marks a new phase in the competition.

Selected among the 40 projects, AgwA’s project will be included in the EUmies Awards travelling exhibition, which will tour Europe over a two-year period. The exhibition will open in May 2026 in Barcelona, as part of Barcelona World Capital of Architecture 2026.

Transforming without erasing: the Charleroi Exhibition Palace

Built in 1954 as a symbol of Charleroi’s industrial strength, the Exhibition Palais occupies a strategic position within the region’s urban landscape. Long weakened by economic and urban transformations, the building became the subject of an international competition won by AgwA and AJDVIV, who adopted a deliberately non-iconic approach: working with the existing structure rather than against it.

The project is based on a careful reading of the original structure and a spatial recomposition through subtraction, revealing the building’s latent qualities. The spatial organisation is rethought vertically, articulating the three historic volumes of the complex. The central block, partially opened, becomes a vertical garden, while the ground floor re-establishes a direct relationship with the city. This strategy limits air-conditioned surfaces, optimises resources and anchors the project within a logic of sustainable transformation, both environmentally and programmatically.

CHAPEX highlights a conception of architecture as an evolving process, allowing for future appropriation, an accepted sense of incompleteness and ongoing transformation. More than a fixed object, the building becomes an open infrastructure, capable of accommodating diverse uses and multiple temporalities.

Timeline

The jury will select seven finalist projects from the 40 shortlisted entries. These will be announced in early February 2026.

The award winners will be revealed during the EUmies Awards Days in Barcelona, held as part of Barcelona World Capital of Architecture 2026, featuring exhibitions, debates and visits to the selected projects.

Discover the CHAPEX project in video form, directed by Jonathan Ortegat: