10,000 Architects From 130 Countries Are Gathering in Barcelona in 26 Days

In 26 days, Barcelona becomes the most important address in global architecture.

The International Union of Architects (UIA) World Congress of Architects 2026 runs from June 28 to July 2, bringing together more than 10,000 participants and 250 speakers from over 130 countries across eight stages, 100 sessions and a 4,000 square metre central exhibition. UNESCO has designated Barcelona as World Capital of Architecture 2026, making it the first city to hold both that title and the UIA Congress simultaneously. It is also the first time Barcelona has hosted the congress twice, the previous occasion being 1996.

The theme is Becoming: Architectures for a Planet in Transition. The programme is structured around six thematic lines: Becoming More-than-human, Becoming Circular, Becoming Embodied, Becoming Interdependent, Becoming Hyper-Conscious, and Becoming Attuned. Each axis brings together architects, researchers, urban planners and institutional voices to interrogate how the profession must evolve in response to ecological breakdown, social inequality, material scarcity and technological disruption.

Rather than a conventional single-venue conference, the congress unfolds across multiple locations along Barcelona's Mediterranean seafront, including the Three Chimneys complex and the Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona (CCIB). More than 70 architectural itineraries curated by studio AMOO will open sites across the city and surrounding territories specifically for congress participants, with preparatory workshops running from June 19 to 27 before the main programme begins.

Speakers confirmed across the programme include Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, the 2021 Pritzker Prize winners known for their work on adaptive reuse and social housing. Marina Tabassum from Bangladesh, whose practice focuses on climate-responsive construction using local materials. Junya Ishigami, the Japanese architect exploring the relationship between architecture and natural environments. Kate Orff and Dirk Sijmons addressing water and climate adaptation. The curatorial team also includes critical voices on material innovation, earth construction, hybrid building approaches and the politics of demolition.

The Africa dimension of the congress is notable. The inaugural Pan-African Biennale of Architecture opens in Nairobi just ten weeks after the Barcelona congress closes, on September 7, 2026. The two events together represent the most concentrated period of global architectural discourse that Africa and its diaspora have been involved in shaping in recent memory. Kenyan and African architects attending Barcelona will arrive at a moment when the continent's built environment agenda is, for the first time, generating genuine international attention on its own terms.

Early bird registration is open at uia2026bcn.org. The congress is open to architects, students, researchers and institutional representatives.