Young Talent Architecture Award Winners Announced at Venice Biennale

The first Young Talent Architecture Award (YTAA) has been conferred at the Teatro Piccolo Arsenale in Venice during the 15th Architecture Biennale. The winners are Iwo Borkowicz from the Catholic University of Leuven, Tomasz Broma from Wrocław University of Technology, and Policarpo del Canto Baquera from ETSAM Madrid. The award is an extension of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award and the Emerging Architect Special Mention, established by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe with the European Commission to promote excellence among recent graduates. From 211 thesis projects submitted by over 100 architecture, urban planning, and landscape schools, a jury chaired by Ecosistema Urbano founder Jose Luis Vallejo selected nine finalists, including Italians Laura Abbruzzese (University of Ferrara) and Lorenzo Perri (AA London). Borkowicz's thesis proposed a symbiotic model of social housing and distributed tourism for Havana, praised for its glocal strategic approach. Broma applied slow philosophy to create an innovative living experience where architecture is an open process. Del Canto Baquera explored geopolitical border complexity through skillful drawings and models, proposing a new model of coexistence. Each winner receives €5,000, participation in the next EUMiesAward exhibition, and integration into the network of architects and critics associated with the prestigious European architecture prize.