In June 2023, the international jury of the Brussels Architecture Prize spent a week whittling down more than 170 submitted entries to just 24 nominated projects, 4 laureates, a Promising Young Architect Award, and a Lifetime Achievement Award. Dorte Mandrup, president of the jury: ‘I was amazed by the scale and quality of production in Brussels over the last three years’. This is the report of a series of difficult choices. 

On 20 April 2023, no fewer than 176 projects (see list, p. 152) were submitted for the Brussels Architecture Prize which recognizes outstanding architectural projects located in the Brussels-Capital Region or designed by Brussels architecture firms. During the first meeting with the jury members – architects Dorte Mandrup (president), Job Floris (vice-president), Eva Prats, Meriem Chabani, Gaye Geipel and Markus Bader – each project was discussed individually by the A+ team and situated within the context of Belgian architectural production. On this basis, the jury was asked to make an initial, reasoned preselection. The general criteria of the Prize were again highlighted: The projects had to demonstrate outstanding quality in terms of their architecture or creation process. They also had to contribute to society in a positive way and pay special attention to sustainable building in a broader sense – for example, through reuse, renovation, conversion, passive construction, contribution to the circular economy, focus on renewable energy, accessibility or attention to soft mobility. In this regard, the jury members were assisted by external experts from Renolution – the programme of the Brussels-Capital Region that helps businesses and individuals with sustainable renovations – who had reviewed and evaluated all the projects beforehand. The jury were also asked by the organizers of the Prize to strive for diversity when selecting the nominated projects, both in terms of the programme, ambition and process within the project itself, and with regard to the composition of the design studio.