Birmingham's Selfridges store has been nominated for a prestigious European architecture award.

It is one of five buildings shortlisted for the Mies van der Rohe Award 2005, the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, which is regarded as one of the most important and prestigious awards on the international architecture scene.

The jury is chaired by Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, who won the 2003 award for her Terminus Hoenheim-Nord in Strasbourg.

Other shortlisted projects are London's 30 St Mary Axe (also known as "the Gherkin") by Foster and Partners, the Forum 2004 Esplanade and Photovoltaic Plant, Barcelona (Martinez Lapeoa-Torres Architects), the Netherlands Embassy in Berlin (Office for Metropolitan Architecture/Rem Koolhaas) and the Braga Municipal Stadium, Portugal (Souto Moura Architects).

The judges said that the brief for Selfridges was to create both a state-of-the-art department store and an architectural landmark for Birmingham.

They said: "The fluid shape and shimmering skin composed of thousands of aluminium disks provide an ethereal backdrop to nearby St Martin's church and the key elements of the interior are the dramatic roof-lit atrium criss-crossed by white sculpted escalators."

The winner, who will receive a prize of 50,000 euros, will be announced at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, on Monday.