A programme for a more collaborative, diverse and committed architecture
“Becoming. Architectures for a Planet in Transition”
- Barcelona will once again become the epicentre of global architectural debate, bringing together professionals from more than 130 countries.
- More than 10,000 participants and 250 speakers will take part in over 100 sessions
- The programme extends across the city, with more than 70 curated itineraries connecting architecture to territory
- The UIA World Congress of Architects 2026 Barcelona has officially unveiled its full programme at a press conference held at the headquarters of the College of Architects of Catalonia (COAC).
Over five days, from 28 June to 2 July 2026, the Congress will bring together approximately 10,000 participants and 250 speakers across more than 100 sessions, alongside a 4,000 m² central exhibition and over 70 itineraries throughout Barcelona and its metropolitan area.
Thirty years after hosting the Congress in 1996, Barcelona once again becomes a global platform for architectural exchange, opening the event to the city and its territory under the theme “Becoming. Architectures for a Planet in Transition”.
The event brought together leading institutional representatives, including Barcelona’s Mayor, Jaume Collboni; Sílvia Paneque, Councillor for Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition of the Generalitat de Catalunya; and Iñaqui Carnicero, Secretary General of Urban Agenda, Housing and Architecture.
They were joined by Congress representatives Marta Vall-llossera (President of the CSCAE), Teresa Táboas (UIA Region I Vice-President and Congress Vice-President), and Guillem Costa Calsamiglia (Dean of the COAC and Congress Director), among others.
Read UIA Vice-President Teresa Táboas speech here.
From Lausanne 1948 to Barcelona 2026
The origins of the Congress date back to 1948, when architects gathered in Lausanne to contribute to rebuilding a world emerging from war.
As UIA Region I Vice-President Teresa Táboas recalled:
“Since 1948, when the world was emerging from the catastrophe of the Second World War, a group of architects gathered in Lausanne with a simple and powerful conviction: architecture had to say something, to help rebuild the world. Since then, every three years, the World Congress of Architecture takes the pulse of historical time, not as a spectator, but as a protagonist. Each congress is a diagnosis”.
Programme and structure
The Congress is organised around six thematic axes, addressing key contemporary challenges across scales and disciplines. Rather than a sequential format, the programme unfolds as a layered experience, combining:
- plenary sessions
- lectures and debates
- research presentations
- workshops
- open forums
The Congress will take place across:
- Les Tres Xemeneies (Sant Adrià de Besòs)
- CCIB (Barcelona International Convention Centre)
- Disseny Hub Barcelona
The Sagrada Família will host the UIA Gold Medal and Triennial Prizes ceremony.
Speakers and highlights
The programme brings together a diverse and international group of voices, including:
- Lacaton & Vassal (Pritzker Prize 2021)
- Shigeru Ban (Pritzker Prize 2014)
- Amateur Architecture Studio (Pritzker Prize 2012)
- Smiljan Radić (Pritzker Prize 2026)
- Architecten Jan de Vylder Inge Vinck (Mies van der Rohe Award 2026)
Key programme highlights include:
- Open Forum: a 1,500-seat open-air structure facing the sea
- Central Exhibition (4,000 m²):
- 12 Research by Design projects
- international workshops
- UNESCO–UIA student competition
- 70+ curated itineraries across Barcelona and its surroundings
The Congress will conclude with the official handover to Beijing (2029).
Organisation
Convened by the International Union of Architects (UIA), the Congress is organised by the CSCAE and the COAC, with the support of the Spanish Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda, the Generalitat de Catalunya, and Barcelona City Council.
Tickets and information.
Press kit and images.
