The Fundació Mies van der Rohe has been the curator of the Living Places—Simon Architecture Prize since its inception. 

The prize is an initiative of Simon. Its goal is to identify those architectural projects (interiors, public, residential, and landscape spaces) whose brilliance enhances people's quality of life and gives them comfort on a daily basis—while they work, learn, share, and enjoy architecture to be lived!

The fifth edition of the Prize is now open. Nominations for any work located within the Prize territories—Europe, Mexico, and Brazil—can be submitted until September 16, 2024. 

Interested architects can present their nominated projects until September 30. The international jury will meet in November to deliberate and choose the winning projects. The finalists and winners will be announced in December.

A video that emphasizes the viewpoint of the occupant serves as the primary medium for showcasing the architectural works included in this prize. This format is thought to be the best for communicating the atmosphere of the location and the instrument for bringing architecture closer to the general public. 

"El Luchador" (The Wrestler), the opening video for this fifth edition, was made by RA! Arquitectos, who won the award for "Best Audiovisual Narrative" in 2022. The short film, which is set in Mexico City's iconic Taller de Arquitectura of Agustún Hernández, emphasizes the ability of dream spaces to grant the desires of their occupants.

Nomination form

The competition encourages participation from architects, urban planners and landscape architects, but also the general public. Any individual may nominate that piece of architecture, that architectural space that has caught their eye, or which has special relevance for them. Entries are open to all projects finished in the two years previous to the prize, and which were constructed in Europe, Mexico or Brazil.

Once completed, the authors of the work will receive an email within a few days.

Start filling in the nomination form.

2024 Jury members

The international jury is made up of professionals from various disciplines. Their profiles are diverse, forming a transversal jury of varied origin, from the sectors of interior design, lighting design, architecture, audiovisuals, and including consolidated professionals and emerging talent. The jury of the Living Places – Simon Architecture Prize 2024 will be meeting in November 2024 to debate on the participant works. Before starting these conversations, each member of the jury will review the submitted works on the forth edition of the Prize: both Collective Places and Personal Places category. The jury will consider all the proposals and review the videos, drawings, photographs and briefs submitted by the participants.

PhD Architect, writer, and curator Andrés Jaque
- Filmmaker and screenwriter Amanda Sans
- Architect and professor Verena Von Beckerath
- Architect and urban planner Gabriela de Matos
- Industrial designer Salvi Plaja, Global Chief Design Officer at Simon and president of FAD

2 categories, 10 finalists, 2 winners

The two categories for the award are Collective Places, which are locations where public and communal life takes place, and Personal Places, which are locations linked to our ideal of privacy and comfort. Each category will have five finalists chosen by the jury, and each category will have a winner. The prize consists of a trophy created by Andreu Carulla and a monetary award of €10,000. The audiovisual work with the best story will also receive a special jury recognition.

- Both the application and the inscription are totally free.
- Open to completed works in use between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2023 within European territories, Mexico, and Brazil.
- Pre-registration (nominations) are open until September 16, 8pm GMT+2. You can nominate: architects, urban planners, landscape architects and the general public.
- Registrations (submissions only by the authors) are open until September 30, 2024, 8pm GMT+2.
- Finalists will be announced in November 2024, with winners revealed in December 2024. The granting ceremony will take place in February 2025.

Download the rules from this page. Read more about the prize on the website. 

The top image in the article: RA! Arquitectos, René Baptista and Tito Sánchez, El Luchador, (The Wrestler) (still), 2024. Courtesy of Simon. 

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