The city of Barcelona, along with its metropolitan area, will become a research laboratory as the main venue for the World Congress of Architecture of the International Union of Architects (UIA), scheduled to take place from June 28th to July 2nd, 2026. Its objective is not only for the Congress to be of maximum relevance and interest to the global community of architects but also for real-impact knowledge and practices to emerge in the everyday lives of people and the future of the planet.
The UIA Barcelona 2026 World Congress of Architecture will present six lines of research, analyzing the capacity of architecture to transform reality over time, and simultaneously conducting research in other national and international environments to enrich proposals and debates. Among its activities, there will be an international competition and a workshop aimed at architecture students, conferences, debates, etc. These will be the central events of the Congress, along with exhibitions and a catalog showcasing the results of the six lines, which will precede the three days of the Congress, fostering productive debate.
The winning proposal of the international competition for the Congress curatorship, 'Becoming. Architectures for a planet in transition' belongs to Pau Bajet, Mariona Benedito, Maria Giramé, Tomeu Ramis, Pau Sarquella, Carmen Torres, and José Zabala. It has been presented by the curators at the headquarters of the Architects' Association of Catalonia (COAC), with the presence of Isabel Rodríguez García, Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda; Jaume Collboni Cuadrado, Mayor of Barcelona; Ester Capella i Farré, Minister of Territory of the Government of Catalonia; Teresa Táboas Veleiro, Vice President of the International Union of Architects; Marta Vall-llossera Ferran, President of the Higher Council of Spanish Architects (CSCAE); and Guillem Costa Calsamiglia, Dean of the Architects' Association of Catalonia.
The proposal focuses on research through architectural projects, with time as the thematic axis, understood as becoming—a vector of change and transition. Its main motto, 'Becoming,' appears in the six lines of research curated by the curators and an extensive group of collaborators. These are:
- BECOMING BEYOND-HUMAN: How can we stimulate greater awareness and action to care for human and non-human planetary coexistence?
- BECOMING ATTUNED: What forms of meaning, ethics, and aesthetics can we incorporate into our daily professional practice?
- BECOMING EMBODIED: How can we incorporate our values and desires in the transition from matter to constructive beauty?
- BECOMING INTERDEPENDENT: How can we include conflict, empathy, solidarity, and caring as key factors to improve interpersonal and civic relations?
- BECOMING HYPER-CONSCIOUS: What tools and actions should we undertake to become hyper-aware of our territory to catalyze changes in our ways of living?
- BECOMING CIRCULAR: What will be the form of territorial production and reproduction taking into account the post-extractivist and proximity policies of circularity?
As the curatorial team states, the proposal of the coastal area of the Barcelona metropolis as the venue for the international meeting seeks to "highlight how the geographical framework of the congress participates in the geopolitical framework represented by the Mediterranean Sea, showing Barcelona as a Mediterranean city in constant transformation, crystallizing the idea of the construction of the city over time." In this way, this highly complex area is invited to address some of the contemporary global challenges, such as vulnerability to climate change, mass tourism, or migratory fluctuations, among others.
I believe that celebrating this World Architecture Congress and understanding how architecture can transform reality through time, seen as a vector of change, seems to me a very accurate approach. But above all, I am interested in how architecture will enable us to address the many challenges we have before us to improve people's lives, which is ultimately what we pursue as public servants. - Isabel Rodríguez, Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda.
As emphasized by Marta Vall-llossera, President of the CSCAE, the work of the curatorial team is crucial "for defining the contents that the Congress will leave us as a legacy and for proposing a necessary process of reflection on the formats and themes of Architecture Congresses to identify and address the challenges of architecture at each moment, making its capacity to improve the quality of life visible, and opening the meeting to citizens." On the other hand, Guillem Costa Calsamiglia, Dean of the COAC, highlighted the importance of the Congress as a space to enhance the fundamental role of architecture in transforming the environment amidst current challenges and improving the quality of life for people.
