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Three Finnish projects among the Mies van der Rohe Award finalists!

OOPEAA Suvela photos Mika Huisman web 1

The Mies van der Rohe Foundation announced today the shortlist of 40 projects competing for the 2017 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture. Finland has an amazing three finalists: Opinmäki School by Esa Ruskeepää and two projects by Anssi Lassila’s OOPEAA, Suvela Chapel and Puukuokka Housing Block.Only France, Portugal and the UK – still member of the EU – made it to the shortlist with more projects than Finland, four each. The Nordic countries are well represented since Denmark and Norway have three finalists as well – with a half Finnish landscape architecture office, MASU Planning, as design partner in one of Norway’s projects. Sweden, on the other hand, had only one hit in this year’s edition. Other three-finalist countries are two architecture superpowers, Spain and the Netherlands.Anssi Lassila’s achievement of getting two designs on the shortlist is worth sincere congratulations. This year only the Danish office Lundgaard & Trandberg as well as Rem Koolhaas’ OMA managed to do the same hat-trick.The winner of the award will be announced in April 2017. Read our previous post on the subject here.