The EUmies Awards Day marked a key moment in European architecture by announcing the winners of the EUmies Awards Young Talent 2025, recognising exceptional student projects that respond to today’s social, urban, and environmental challenges.
The event, held within the context of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, brought together winners, jury members, and institutional representatives for a day of dialogue around four key themes: Artificial, Natural, Collective, and Intelligens.
The European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, Mr. Glenn Micallef, shared a video message to congratulate all involved: “These awards have become synonymous with European excellence, and today we celebrate exceptional young talent shaping Europe’s built environment. Your work is essential in crafting more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient spaces that reflect our shared history, values, and vision for the future. Architecture is not only an expression of European identity – it is a unifying force that brings us together.”
ACE President Ruth Schagemann delivered a powerful message to the next generation of arcgitects: “You will shape the places where we will live, meet, move, grow up, fall in love. And today, more than ever, the world needs architects who understand that space is not neutral—space speaks. It includes, or it excludes. It connects, or it divides.”
EUmies Awards Young Talent 2025 + Open 2025 WINNERS
Brave New AxisYoung Talent 2025YT FinalistsSpyridon Loukidis · Markos Georgios Sakellion · Georgios Thalassinos- Forest & PhoenixYoung Talent 2025YT FinalistsVera Kellmann · Carolina von Hammerstein
- Hotel InterimYoung Talent 2025YT FinalistsAndreas Stanzel
- Poolside PoliticsYoung Talent 2025YT Open FinalistsJames Langlois
Award Presentations and Conversations
- Mr. Normunds Popens, Deputy Director-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, presented the award for Brave New Axis to Spyridon Loukidis, Markos Georgios Sakellion, and Georgios Thalassinos (National Technical University of Athens). A discussion followed with jury member Jason O’Shaughnessy on the role of public space in cities.
- Mrs. Jutta Kastner, Creative Europe policy officer, awarded Forest & Phoenix to Carolina von Hammerstein and Vera Kellmann (Technical University of Berlin), followed by a discussion on materiality and greening in Europe with jury member Maibritt Dammann.
- Mr. Roberto Cavallo, President of the European Association of Architectural Education (EAAE), presented the award for Hotel Interim to Andreas Stanzel (Bauhaus-Universität Weimar), and joined jury member Ana Dana Beroš in a conversation on collectivity in architecture.
- Mrs. Ruth Schagemann, President of the Architects’ Council of Europe, announced the winner of the Young Talent Open: Poolside Politics by James Langlois (University of Westminster, London). They spoke with jury member Konstantinos Pantazis on themes of collectivity and nature.
The day concluded with a final joint discussion among the winners, the awarding of diplomas to all finalists and shortlisted participants, and a visit to the updated exhibition.
Collective Reflections on the Winning Projects
The jury emphasized that the selected projects reflect a generation of architects attuned to the complexity of contemporary society. These works transcend conventional architectural practices, addressing topics like urban fragmentation, climate resilience, interim reuse, and community-driven design:
Brave New Axis reconfigures Athens’ historical urban grid, creating new spatial connections that promote inclusivity and mobility.
Forest & Phoenix imagines hybrid infrastructures to combat and prevent forest fires, emphasizing ecology and public space.
Hotel Interim demonstrates the potential of temporary use and transformation, turning a condemned hotel into a learning hub.
Poolside Politics reclaims an abandoned municipal pool in Marseille as a symbol of civic empowerment and radical municipalism.
Together, these projects signal a shift towards architectural practices grounded in social engagement, environmental responsibility, and collective action.
The EUmies Awards Young Talent is organised by the Foundation Mies van der Rohe with the support of Creative Europe, in partnership with the European Association for Architectural Education (EAAE) and the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE-CAE).
Pics by Photo Matteo Losurdo/ EUmies Awards Young Talent
