Overall objective
To assist the architectural profession in making an effective contribution to the challenges of sustainability on the local and global scale; to facilitate access to information and continuing education on sustainability; to make the architectural profession's expertise available to the international community.

Region I
Specific triennial objective
To create effective research tools that will get the educational community involved in this area.
Current activity
Establishing an on-line platform on "sustainable building materials" and "powerhouse-energy efficient technologies and methods".
Expert
Manfred Hegger (Germany)

Region III
Director
Silvia de Schiller (Argentina)

Region IV
Specific triennial objective
Expand the existing research on sustainable examples in the region.
Current activity
Creation of a database on best sustainability practices in Asia and Oceania.
Expert
Kazuo Iwamura (Japan)

Region V
Overall objective
Develop, strengthen, sensitise, improve, promote, and disseminate the theory, principles, and practical information needed to build sustainable architecture and expand the sustainable construction industry.
Specific triennial objective
Incorporate sustainable theory and principles into educational epistemology and pedagogy, professional practice manuals, and continuing education; Improve the life cycle analyses of built environment artefacts.
Current activity
Create of a website and database regrouping exemplary architectural realisations; Organise teacher-training programmes on subjects related to sustainability; Disseminate legislation and policy directives and their impact in different countries around Region V.
Director
Llewellyn van Wyk (South Africa)

International
Overall objective
The Work Programme aims to translate low energy principles, techniques, and systems into architecture in order to achieve better indoor environmental quality with the lowest possible energy use in buildings and urban areas.
Specific triennial objective
Research of new design concepts and methodologies that will increase architect's awareness on Renewable Energy principles and technologies. The results will affect the Architectural design of the future, in order to achieve the overall programme goals and the maximum use of Renewable Sources in Architecture..
Current activity
International competition on renewable energy sources and bioclimatic architecture to shelter people affected by natural disasters.
Director
Nikos Fintikakis (Greece)

International
Overall objective
The architectural profession is going through a mutational crisis due to its demographic evolution, globalisation, the omnipresence of computers, the appearance of new, competing professions etc., all of which eventually cause a drop in demand, loss of markets and, finally, the pauperisation of the social body of the architects. This Work Programme, by examining the role of architect in different societies, hopes to identify these mutations and other perceptible evolutions in the profession.
Specific triennial objective
Mapping the relation architect-society throughout the world.
Current activity
Research through a questionnaire on the architects' role distributed to all the UIA Member Sections.
Director
Jean-Claude Riguet (France)

International
Overall objective
The future quality and sustainability of the built environment will be determined by the children of today, who will be the clients, consumers, and decision-makers of tomorrow. Their ability to make sound, informed decisions will depend on the education they receive. Work Programme activity focuses on Built Environment Education (BEE), with the general aim of providing educational materials, tools, and resources to people involved in the education of young people. This will help resolve the great difficulties that teachers and others now face when trying to find suitable teaching material for architectural topics.
Specific triennial objective
To enable primary and secondary school teachers and their students to understand architectural design and the process by which the environment is shaped.
Current activity
Managing the BEE website, guidelines, and poster exhibition; making presentations at seminars, conferences, etc.
Co-Directors
Ewa Struzynska (France)
Hannes Hubrich (Germany)

Overall objective
In spite of the major advances in the development of national and international civil and human rights legislations, which now recognise accessibility to the built and natural environment as an element of equal opportunity for all, there is still a lack of education and awareness about these considerations among architects. The Programme hopes to increase understanding in this area, so that homes, buildings, and cities will become accommodating for everyone.

Region I
Specific triennial objective
Promoting "Inclusive Design" so that it will become part of a driving force toward more sustainable architecture.
Director
Fionnuala Rogerson (Ireland)

Region II
Specific triennial objective
Dissemination of educational guides on best practices and consultation documents in Region II, creation of a network of specialised professionals and institutions.
Current activity
Organisation of a prize for the most accessible public buildings.
Director
Krzystof Chwalibog (Poland)

Region III
Specific triennial objective
To promulgate the non-discrimination culture around Region III, and set up means for its study and analysis in the professional and educational fields.
Current activity
Promotion and distribution of the Programme's publication "Recommendations for the Development of Public Policies", organisation of seminars and preparation of a website.
Director
Luis Enrique Lòpez Cardiel (Mexico)

Region IV
Specific triennial objective
Strengthen the concept of AfA in local communities among the public, professionals, and students of architecture; promote barrier-free architecture and universal accessibility.
Current activity
Launching an official WP website including an event calendar, news, case studies, publications, useful links, related regulations and guidelines, and contact information of WP members and representatives.
Director
Joseph Kwan (Hong Kong)

International
Overall objective
Intermediate cities house twice the population of the existing metropolis and megalopolis. They number approximately 3400 and can be found in all geographic regions, with all their diversity and potential. The Work Programme feels that quality architecture and town-planning in these cities is the best way to meet the challenges of world urbanisation, and improve living conditions through local development.
Specific triennial objective
Research on the role of spaces reserved for markets and commercial activity, public spaces, and spaces for religious worship in the 96 intermediate cities that make up out network.
Current activity
Elaboration of the publication "Intermediate Cities. Profiles and Tendencies" which compiles analyses, critical reviews, and essays; establish of a list of best practices and tools for urbanisation that can help to overcome current urbanistic deficits and meet modern challenges.
Director
Josep M. Llop Torné (Spain)

International
Overall objective
Raise awareness among architects about their role and responsibility in the making of safe buildings, safe environments, and safe cities; coordinate the exchange of knowledge and experience concerning disaster preparedness and mitigation; disseminate and enable sharing of information among architects on ways of reducing the effects of disasters in urban areas; facilitate and encourage the inclusion of risk reduction measures in architectural projects.
Specific triennial objective
Earthquake resistant architectural design and conscientious urban planning; legal aspects of design and construction in regard to disasters.
Current activity
Architectural competition for provision of temporary housing following disasters and publication on the South Asia Earthquake Forum held at the UIA Istanbul congress.

International
Overall objective
With the understanding that education and culture are basic human needs, independently of where they take place, the Work Programme concentrates not only on the mere buildings dedicated to them but also extends its interest and mission to their impact and role within society.
Specific triennial objective
In this triennial period, the Work Programme is focusing on all aspects of the relationship between hi-tech facilities and the city in order to prove that these edifices have a lot to contribute to the urban environment.
Current activity
Annual seminars
Director
Moshe Zarhy, (Israel)

Region I
Overall objective
Contribute to the continuous professional development of architects in the conception of high quality habitat.
Specific triennial objective
Research into the impact of new communications media on habitat.
Current activity
Preparation of a best practices guide containing examples built within the last ten years.
Director
Michel Kalt (France)

Region II
Overall objective
Strengthen the architectural tools in order to reduce and combat social inequality; ensure access to suitable housing to the most impoverished and those particularly vulnerable with regard to access to housing.
Specific triennial objective
Revive the best architectural concepts used in social housing and on this basis, develop new architectural approaches for contemporary social housing.
Current activity
Inventory and analysis of significant projects and preparation of a publication.
Director
Iskra Dandolova (Bulgaria)

Region I
Overall objective
Study of ancient heritage in liaison with the various crafts.
Specific triennial objective
Reflection on the evolution of social practices concerning heritage and on the continuity of a certain idea of culture and that should be maintained where it can be used to the best advantage.
Current activity
Establish an inventory of case studies on the re-use of heritage buildings, in collaboration with politicians, users, and developers.
Director
Michel Léger (France)

Region IV
Overall objective
Record and promote the qualities, concepts, and development of significant sites over time.
Specific triennial objective
Develop strategies for implementation of common educational guidelines to stimulate the transfer of information between the profession and educational institutions in order to establish standards for good practice and methodologies for documentation. Creation of a network of related professionals and institutions with appropriate expertise in exploring, documenting, and adapting sites of cultural significance. Creation of a network of tertiary universities in order to produce a common syllabus for the proposed fields.
Current activity
Preparation of publications, manuals, consultation documents, websites, databases, exhibitions, seminars and conferences. Organisation of teacher-training programmes, development of programmes for continuing professional education.
Director
Cristina Turalba (Phillipines)
Ron Edgar (Australia)

Region V
Overall objective
Broadening the scope of architectural heritage to include not only existing artefacts but also the new buildings that will become the heritage of the future generations.
Specific triennial objective
Definition of conservation policies to protect heritage from natural disasters.
Current activity
Identify high-risk disaster areas that jeopardise the valuable heritage of mankind and identify the safest places for building the major world museums of human knowledge.
Expert
Hossam Aboulfotouh (Egypt)

International
Overall objective
The Work Programme deals with human spirituality in architecture. Its areas of interest are both places of worship — independently of which religion they belong to — and civilian sacral spaces (such as cemeteries or monuments) and their place in different societies. Its activities therefore focus on developing, strengthening, sensitising, improving, increasing, promoting, and disseminating knowledge about spiritual spaces.
Specific triennial objective
A study of the impact of new technologies and the information society on spiritual places.
Current activity
Creation of an "interactive knowledge sharing platform", databases related to the theme, building of a website, and preparation of the exhibition that will display the results of the studies and work of the WP at the Turin congress, in 2008.
Director
Ewa Kurylovicz (Poland)

International
Overall objective
With the understanding that education and culture are basic human needs, independently of where they take place, the Work Programme concentrates not only on the mere buildings dedicated to them but also extends its interest and mission to their impact and role within society.
Current activity
Organisation of international seminars (with the support of UNESCO).
Director
Yannis Michael (Greece)

Region II
Overall objective
The Work Programme conceives tourism as a socio-economic activity and stresses the importance that it be planned as such from the local to the regional and national levels, in a sustainable and environmentally-sensible way. It also investigates the role of the architect in the processes of planning for tourism.
Specific triennial objective
Specific triennial studies on alternative tourism, conference tourism, religious tourism, educational tourism, and tourism around spas.
Current activity
Organisation of seminars and workshops, active participation in other conferences (UN-Habitat, CIMES).
Directors
Janna Mitsou (Greece)
Andrey Ivanov (Russia)

International
Overall objective
Providing efficient, aesthetic, and safe health care buildings and healing environments is essential to the world public health because it contributes to more rapid healing and to better care of patients, while at the same time improving health-care professionals' working conditions and satisfaction. The Work Programme has established a network of professionals specialised in building for health care that shares its knowledge and experience not only within the network, but also with other architects, engineers and consultants, health care managers and providers, health care organisations, and governments.
Specific triennial objective
During this triennial period, the Work Programme will focus on sustainability, lifecycle economy, and the healing environment.
Current activity
Organisation of seminars, preparation of publications and manuals, active participation and presentations by Programme members at congresses of other organisations (e.g. IHF, EU HPN, and GUPHA)
Director
Hans Eggen (Switzerland)

International
Overall objective
Fostering international exchanges of information and cooperation in the field of building for sport and leisure. Representing the architectural profession and offering an expert intervention before other international organisations such as: International Olympic Committee, European Sports Conference, Commonwealth Association of Architects, International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities, Sports and Play Construction Association, World Leisure and Research Association, United Nations Environment Programme, UEFA, and so on.
Current activity
Organising international seminars on different themes related to sports and leisure.
Director
Ian Mckenzie (United Kingdom)