At the seventh edition of the "Erich Mendelsohn Prize for Brick Architecture", the Berlin project "Mittelweg" convinced the jury: Planning from the hand of the Berlin architectural firm DMSW
The architectural firm DMSW has won the Erich Mendelsohn Prize 2026 for brick architecture in the "Best in Germany" category with the residential project at Mittelweg 8 in Berlin-Neukölln. The award is given to the contemporary architecture of the newly built residential and office building, which uses brick as a building material in a special design and construction quality.
The bright clinker façade of the monolithic building convinced the jury. Materiality, construction and design combine to form a clear architectural concept. The project was realised as a densification on a plot of land previously considered unbuildable. Urban planning specifications, the public sewer on the street side of the property and fire protection requirements led to the striking building cubature. The project translates complex framework conditions into a concise architectural figure and illustrates how affordable housing in inner-city locations can be realised in an ecologically and economically sensible way.
"The group house closes a gap between houses, all of which are strongly influenced by their time in their own way. Despite the difficult site and the necessary fire wall, it is possible to form a clear property boundary and to think of the block as a whole. With the discreet, monolithic brick façade, the house is given a materiality that hits the tone of the place. Thus, the strength of the project lies in the urban planning by developing the space further and making it its own." – Statement of the jury.
Push-through apartments with flexible floor plans and spacious loggias as well as a variety of communal open spaces combine functional quality with spatial generosity. The almost completely unsealed outdoor areas and an intensively landscaped roof garden with rainwater storage offer a wide range of recreational opportunities and allow the complete infiltration of precipitation despite the small area. The result is an independent, durable architecture with high architectural standards.
In the "Best in Germany" category, DMSW is one of three award winners, together with the expansion of the Kaiserin-Augusta-Schule in Cologne (ZILA) and the reconstruction of the central machine station in Hamburg (BIWERMAU Architekten).
Since 2008, the Erich Mendelsohn Prize has honored the best brick buildings. It is awarded every three years in four categories by an interdisciplinary jury of experts and honors buildings worldwide.
