Barcelona - The Norwegian architecture firm Snohetta has won the Mies van der Rohe architecture award for the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo, the Mies van der Rohe Foundation announced Wednesday in Barcelona.

The jury described the opera as "more than just a building."

"It is first an urban space... a catalyst of all the energies of the city and emblematic of the regeneration of its urban tissue," jury chairman Francis Rambert said.

The price worth 60,000 euros (78,000 dollars) is awarded every two years by the European Union and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation in Barcelona for works completed over the previous two years. (dpa)