The Palace of Justice in Córdoba, Spain, is nominated for the prestigious European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award 2019, granted every two years to acknowledge and reward quality architectural production in Europe.
Located in Arroyo del Moro, the Palace of Justice in Córdoba is characteristically dominated by anonymous housing blocks, products of the rapid urban development of 21st-century Spanish cities. The blocks that characterize the urban fabric of the zone were not capable of generating public space or offering something new to the city, but collectively they form a compact and coherent urban identity. The addition of a public institution to the area creates the opportunity to upgrade the public realm and add a civic quality to this relatively new neighbourhood.
The massing strategy creates urban integration through fragmentation. It follows a similar strategy to the spontaneous growth process of medieval cities resulting in a volume which is carefully sculpted to adapt to the surrounding context.
The Award draws attention to the major contribution by European professionals to the development of new ideas and technologies. At the same time, it offers both individuals and public institutions an opportunity to reach a clearer understanding of the cultural role of architecture in the construction of our cities.
At each two-yearly edition, the jury selects two works: one that receives the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture in recognition of its conceptual, technical and constructional qualities, and the other that receives the Emerging Architect Special Mention. The jury also selects a set of finalist works to be included in both the Award catalogue and exhibition.