WERK12, MVRDV’s project in Munich with co-architects N-V-O Nuyken von Oefele Architekten, has been nominated for the 2022 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award. The EU Mies Award is given every 2 years to recognise the best new architecture in the European Union.

WERK12 was completed in October of 2019 and forms the nucleus of Munich’s regenerated Werksviertel-Mitte district, containing restaurants and bars, offices, and a three-storey gym with a pool. The project’s standout feature is its bold and expressive art façade featuring 5-metre-tall verbal expressions found in German comics.

The building has a simple form, and is built with honest materials and transparent façades. Users can move around the building in multiple ways, using the external circulation core, the 3.25-metre-wide terraces that surround each floor of the building, and the external staircases. These features, combined with the 5.5-metre floor heights, create a building that is extremely flexible and can be adapted to future uses with different layouts and even mezzanine levels where needed. This design for longevity is a key part of the building’s strategy to make a long-term, sustainable contribution to the Werksviertel-Mitte district.

A full list of nominees to the 2022 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award will be announced on February 2. Read more about WERK12 here.

Main image © Ossip van Duivenbode