Valentino Architects’ VIP Terminal Malta International Airport has been nominated for the 2026 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Awards, Europe’s most prestigious architecture prize recognising excellence in design and built works.
The VIP Terminal reimagines the experience of air travel at the Malta International Airport through a sequence of calm, light-filled spaces designed to offer a more personal journey. Conceived as an alternative to the main terminal, the project reframes airport infrastructure as architecture – an environment shaped by light, material and proportion, rather than scale or spectacle.
At the heart of the project is a commitment to material responsibility. The terminal’s use of recycled Maltese stone, salvaged from the airport’s previous CIP Terminal building, grounds the building in its physical context while reducing the demand for newly quarried material. Recut, reassembled, and expressed through clean lines and refined detailing, the stone surfaces link the building to Malta’s architectural heritage while aligning with contemporary approaches to circular design.
The nomination acknowledges the project’s ambition to merge functional precision with a spatial and cultural identity rooted in a Maltese context. Drawing on a restrained palette of materials and refined detailing, the terminal balances technical performance with a clear architectural intent: to create a meaningful sense of arrival and departure.
We are honoured that the VIP Terminal has been recognised among a diverse range of European projects that reflect the evolving role of architecture in civic and infrastructural contexts. This nomination continues the studio’s dialogue with the Mies Awards, following previous nominations for ThreePlusOne (2022) and eCabs Booking Office (2018), and reaffirms our commitment to exploring how design can enhance the lived experience of everyday environments.
Valentino Architects extends thanks to Malta International Airport plc, our collaborators, and all contributors to this project for their shared vision and trust in architecture’s capacity to transform function into experience.
