Bjarke Ingels, architect and head of übersuccessful Danish practice BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group, has just been announced as the 2010 laureate of the European Prize for Architecture, awarded annually by the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. Bjarke Ingels advocates for architecture to be taught in public schools alongside science and mathematics. He has broken Denmark’s good-old boy network challenging a constipated establishment to think outside a boring box. He is challenging Europe’s mundane status quo. He is also a leading force in Europe’s Green Architecture movement producing astonishing and exemplary works of sustainable design. He has inspired Europe’s emerging young generation - of which he is apart - to push for new architecture beyond the pale fringe. At age 38, Bjarke Ingels has already had an astonishing career and is only starting to shape a new contemporary direction in today’s European architecture. For these reasons and numerous others, The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design have named Bjarke Ingels as the recipient for the 2010 European Prize for Architecture. The European Architecture Prize, established as a collaborative effort between The European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum, is to be formally presented to Bjarke Ingels at “The City and The World: Madrid Symposium” November 4-7, 2010. On Friday, November 5, at a Gala Diner and special Award’s Ceremony, together with Colegio Oficial de Arquitecturos de Madrid, Madrid’s Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Jiménez will officially present Mr. Ingels with the lauris nobilis—symbolic of the European Prize. Mr. Ingels will give a lecture preceding the dinner at 6:00PM at Centro de Turismo Colón, Plaza Colón, Madrid. Info: www.europeanarch.eu