Winners have been announced for the 10 Blind Walls international competition for young architects. Organised by Fundació Mies van der Rohe and the Barcelona City Council, the single stage ideas competition open to all young architects was organised as part of the city's nomination as the 2026 UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture. Participants were invited to remodel 10 permanent blind walls, spread across the city’s 10 districts, aiming to leave a lasting legacy in Barcelona. This competition was conducted in accordance with he UNESCO Standard Regulations for International Competitions and the UIA best practice recommendations. The international jury reviewed 439 entries received from 51 countries. Jury members were impressed by the great diversity of concepts and architectural solutions presented in the competition. 1. Placeta Martina Castells 1st prize: Intramuros by Núria Rodríguez i Molina (Spain)2nd prize: Kitchen Balcony by Ignasi Sarria Sánchez, Anna Badia Martínez (Spain)3rd prize: Reminiscència by Jordi Ma Lu, Tianyi Jiang (United Kingdom)Honourable mention: Interlude by Rodrigo Ballina Benites, Luciano Ariel Del Valle, Agustina Ronconi, Lucía Russo Herrera (Argentina)2. Ctra. Antiga d’Horta 1st prize: Hanging Gardens by Sofia Romeo Gurrea-Nozaleda (Spain)2nd prize: From Lost to the "Rec" by Carles Esquerra Julià, Gabriel Casals Serrano, Eric Mut Cuadern (Spain)3rd prize: SVDS - Sustainable Vertical Drainage System by km13, Eric Moya Soler, Sílvia Prujà Mayà (Spain)3. Jardins Francesc Masclans 1st prize: The Golden Gateway by José Lacruz Vela (Spain)2nd prize: Píxel Ecosystem by Álvaro González Serrano (Spain)3rd prize: Stitch it up by Francisca Gual Ors & Sergi Pérez Gil (Spain)4. Lluçà 1st prize: Living Threshold by Carlos Montero Pérez, Xavier Granados Esteve (Spain)2nd prize: The Urban Blindfold by Ege Cakir, Cemre Onerturk (Türkiye)3rd prize: In-Between by Paula Navarro Lossa, Adrià Rosell Sáenz De Villaverde, Oriol Graells Riera (Spain)Honourable mention: Urban Palette: Merging Modernity with Tradition by Enes Bayraktar (Türkiye)5. Jardins de Marià Manent 1st prize: Azure - Where City Walls Blossom by Teodora Todoranova, Nino Mgeladze (Spain)2nd prize: Darwin comes to Barcelona by Víctor Ballesteros Mateos (Spain)3rd prize: Water Bodies by Andrea Capilla Mónaco, Joan Martí Elias (Spain)6. Jardins Caterina Albert 1st prize: Eixamplant by Oscar Segovia Castillo, Alan Ferrando Shearer, Iván Lozano Benéitez (Spain)2nd prize: Look out by Francesco Leoni, Davide Troiani, Behar Shoti, Elena Stefani, Gianluigi Perinelli, Federica Missanelli (Italy)3rd prize: FachadaCreativa94 by Andrei de Morais de Souza (Brazil)7. Pantà de Tremp 1st prize: Terraplén by Renato Righi, Pedro Escoriza Torralbo (Italy)2nd prize: Wicker Wallscape by Alicia Borchardt, Quentin Blaising (France)3rd prize: The view from days gone by Antonio Cornely (Brazil)8. Placeta de Charlot 1st prize: Safareig by Diego Costanzo, Agustina Coulleri (Argentina)2nd prize: Ceramic Fold by Rodrigo Ballina Benites, Luciano Ariel Del Valle, Agustina Ronconi, Lucía Russo Herrera (Argentina)3rd prize: Sous les pavés, la plage! by Mariano Jaime Moreno, Javier Ortega (Argentina)9. Placeta de Grau 1st prize: The Naked by Dániel Hartvig, Dávid Kálna (Hungary)2nd prize: Waterland by Francesco Leoni, Davide Troiani, Behar Shoti, Elena Stefani, Gianluigi Perinelli, Federica Missanelli (Italy)3rd prize: Living Screen by Dimitrios Mitsimponas, Hugo Hu, Xixi Sun (Greece)10. Parc de la Sagrera 1st prize: Mundocircudante by Ralph Tomas Bravo Nieto (Argentina)2nd prize: The Threefold by Cristina Roca Farre, Enrique Mora Azon, Alba Muñoz Rodriguez (Spain)3rd prize: Eco Walls, Dynamic Cities by Jiaojiao Miao (China)The winning proposals will be implemented, whenever possible, for their inauguration in 2026 as part of the programme of activities of the UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture. Visit the competition website and read the jury report |
