BERLIN.- The European Commission and Mies van der Rohe Foundation have announced the six finalists for the Prize of the European Union for Contemporary Architecture 2011, Mies van der Rohe Award. In all, some 323 submissions were entered from projects across 33 European countries.

The prize awards outstanding contemporary building projects. It is the most prestigious of all European architectural awards, comes with a prize of 60,000 euros and has been awarded every two years since 1987. The projects are nominated by a panel of independent experts, member associations of the Architect's Council of Europe, various national institutes of architects and the award committee's own advisory board.

The award will be presented on 20 June 2011 in the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, Spain.

In anticipation of the result, Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said: 'Our finalists all have two things in common: they are Europeans, and they are placed in the league of the most visionary architects in the world. Our award pays tribute to their talent and illustrates what our creative economy achieves on an economic, social and cultural level.'

The six contestants into the final round are:

• Neues Museum Berlin, Germany - David Chipperfield Architects / David Chipperfield

• Bronks Youth Theatre Brussels, Belgium
MDMA - Martine De Maesenner Architecten / Martine De Maeseneer, Dirk Van den Brande

• MAXXI: Museum of XXI Century Arts Rome, Italy - Zaha Hadid Architects / Zaha Hadid, Patrick Schumacher, Gianluca Racana

• Concert House Danish Radio Copenhagen, Denmark - Ateliers Jean Nouvel / Jean Nouvel

• Acropolis Museum Athens, Greece - Bernard Tschumi Architects / Bernard Tschumi

• Rehabilitation Centre Groot Klimmendaal Arnhem, The Netherlands - Architectenbureau Koen van Velsen / Koen van Velsen