The Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) has launched the 13th edition of the European Prize for Urban Public Space, calling for submissions of built works completed between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2025 across the 46 member states of the Council of Europe.

Since its inception in 2000, the biennial, non-monetary award has recognised outstanding interventions in the design, transformation or recovery of public spaces. It is jointly awarded to authors and promoters of the selected works, and serves as a platform for promoting debate around public space in European cities. To date, the Prize has reviewed more than 2,800 entries.

The 2026 edition is open to projects involving the creation, recovery, or improvement of public space completed between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2025 within the 46 member states of the Council of Europe. Eligible works must not have been submitted to previous editions of the Prize.

Key Dates

10 December 2025: Registration Opened
26 February 2026: Deadline for submissions
6 July 2026: Announcement of 25 shortlisted works and 5 finalists
15–18 October 2026: Finalist presentations, jury deliberation, and award ceremony at the CCCB

Submissions will be evaluated in two stages. First, 25 projects will be shortlisted and published in the Prize archive and catalogue. From these, 5 finalists will be invited to present their work at a public event in Barcelona. The winner will be announced following a final jury session.

2026 Jury

Beside the President Eva Prats (Architect, Barcelona), the jury members include Angelika Fitz (Director, Architekturzentrum Wien), Monika Konrad (Architect and urban planner), Bas Smets (Landscape architect), Philip Ursprung (Architectural historian) and Lluís Ortega (Architect, Barcelona) as a secretary.

Evaluation Criteria

The jury will assess each entry based on its contribution to the civic, cultural, and ecological dimensions of urban public space. This includes:

– Design quality and spatial clarity, 
– Public character and civic functions
– Interdisciplinary collaboration
– Urban relevance and contextual sensitivity
– Contribution to mobility, inclusion, memory, and sustainability
– Capacity to reduce segregation and promote urban resilience

Projects must be publicly accessible and situated in urban contexts, regardless of size. Works submitted to previous editions are not eligible.

Advisory Committee

The 2026 edition is supported by an international network of institutions including:

Arc en rêve (Bordeaux)
ArkDes (Stockholm)
Architekturzentrum Wien (Vienna)
Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine (Paris)
CIVA (Brussels)
Deutsches Architekturmuseum (Frankfurt)
Eesti Arhitektuurimuuseum (Tallinn)
Kortárs Építészeti Központ (Budapest)
Muzej za Arhitekturo in Oblikovanje (Ljubljana)
The Architecture Foundation (London)