The International Union of Architects has many years of experience overseeing and assisting in the organisation of international competitions in architecture and urban planning. In 1956, delegations of practicing architects from all over the world drew up a set of standard regulations for international competitions in architecture and urban planning, which UNESCO subsequently ratified. The framework and objectives embodied in the UNESCO Regulations have endured for more than sixty years, prioritising equal treatment, transparency, qualified adjudication, quality and innovation. The experience and authority conferred on UIA by UNESCO allows us to serve as a reference in terms of ethics and prestige in the realm of international architecture and urban planning competitions. Support from the UIA gives organisers access to architects and architecture students as well as to media and professional institutions worldwide.
Quality competitions, quality architecture since 1956
The UIA promotes excellence in architecture, sustainability and cultural diversity. Student and professional international architecture competitions endorsed through the UNESCO-UIA International Competitions Programme have taken place all over the world and have resulted in some of the most iconic edifices of the 20th century. The experience and authority conferred upon the UIA by UNESCO in 1956 allow us to serve as a reference in terms of ethics in the realm of architecture and urban planning competitions globally.
The UIA also advises on the organisation of international architectural prizes. Launched by public or private organisms these prizes spotlight specific architectural realisations, materials, technologies, themes, or research. UIA-endorsed architecture prizes have taken place all over the world.
Region II - Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East | Greece
TIF-HELEXPO, a national exhibition and conference organizer based in Thessaloniki, Greece, organised an international multidisciplinary project competition with prequalification for the design of Thessaloniki ConfEx Park, located in the heart of Thessaloniki, currently home to 1.1 million people and Greece’s second largest city.
Region II - Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East | Afghanistan
UNESCO, with the collaboration of the Government of Afghanistan, organised an international open competition in 2014 for the design of the Bamiyan Cultural Centre.
Region II - Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East | Kuwait
The UIA endorsed the international, restricted two-phase architecture competition for the design of the new headquarters for the Kuwait Foundation of Sciences (KFAS), a private, non-profit organisation dedicated to progress and to the advancement of the society through science and technology.
The invited international, two-phase project competition was launched in March 2018 to identify the best and most environmentally-friendly solution for a mixed-use office space in the heart of the “European Quarter” in Brussels demarcated by streets Rue de la Loi, Rue de Spa, Rue Joseph II and the Chausée d’Etterbeek.
Region II - Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East | Lebanon
The International Architectural Design Competition for the Knowledge and Innovation Center in Tripoli, Lebanon was managed by the Lebanese Federation of Engineers and Architects on behalf of the Tripoli Special Economic Zone and the Government of the Republic of Lebanon.
Region II - Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East | Lithuania
The UIA endorsed the international architectural design competition for the National Concert Hall in Vilnius, Lithuania. Architects from all over the world were invited to design one of the most important future spaces in the capital city of Lithuania and to submit their proposals to the Vilnius City Municipality.
Region II - Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East | Slovenia
The urban regeneration project linking the Italian city of Gorizia with the Slovenian city, Nova Gorica, and creating a shared central area to be known as Europe Square – Piazzale Della Transalpina and the hub EPICenter, was conducted as part of a campaign for the title of 2025 European Capital of Culture (ECoC).
Region II - Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East | Russia
The UIA endorsed the international competition for the architectural landscape design concept of Tuchkov Buyan Park in Saint Petersburg (Russia). Architects and landscape designers from all countries were invited to submit their expressions of interest for this single-stage restricted competition.
Region II - Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East | Iraq
UNESCO with the support of the Government of United Arab Emirates, the Prime Minister of Iraq and the UN Secretary-General, organised an international, single stage, open and anonymous architecture competition for the Reconstruction & Rehabilitation of the Al Nouri Complex in Mosul, Iraq.
The International VELUX Award, a biannual international student ideas competition endorsed by the UIA since 2004, has announced its Regional Winners for the 2020 Edition.
