Barcelona begins to reveal the cards it will play in 2026 as World Capital of Architecture. The World Congress of Architects of the International Union of Architects (UIA) has made public the first preview of its program and the initial list of confirmed speakers, which places the city, once again, at the center of the global architectural debate.
More than a hundred internationally renowned names have already confirmed their participation in the congress, which will be held from June 28 to July 2, 2026, under the motto Becoming. Architectures for a planet in transition. The event expects to gather more than 10,000 people —including professionals, students, and institutions— from more than 130 countries.
Among the first announced figures are A JDVIV / IVJDV A (Jan de Vylder and Inge Vinck), Alexander Brodsky, Andrés Jaque, Anne Holtrop, Atelier Bow-Wow, Bas Smets, Baukunst, Bêka & Lemoine, Brandlhuber+, Bruther, Colectivo C733, Forensic Architecture, H Arquitectes, Marina Tabassum, OFFICE KGDVS, Paulo Tavares, Roger Boltshauser, Tatiana Bilbao, TEN Studio, Timothy Morton, Turenscape, Xu Tiantian, and Yasmeen Lari. A plural set of voices that reflects the disciplinary, geographical, and conceptual diversity that will mark the Congress.
The first list of speakers also includes landscape and ecology references such as BC architects & studies & materials, Catherine Mosbach, Dirk Sijmons, Rotor, Taller Capital, and Transsolar; practices with a strong social and political dimension such as Assemble Studio, House Europe!, LaCol, Lara Almarcegui, Samia Henni, and Teddy Cruz & Fonna Forman; as well as influential voices in theory and research, among which are Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, Jack Self, Lydia Kallipoliti, Mario Carpo, Philippe Rahm, Rahul Mehrotra, and The Architecture Lobby.
One of the novelties of the program is the introduction of the role of the Critical Antagonist, a figure designed to stimulate debate and open new perspectives through critical interventions in plenary sessions. The first confirmed figures in this role are Enrique Walker, Giovanna Borasi, Juan Herreros, Marina Otero, Philip Ursprung, and Sana Frini.
The Congress will bring together more than 200 speakers from all over the world and will deploy a wide variety of formats, including plenary presentations, conferences, dialogues, debates, round tables, workshops for students, and a large exhibition open to the public. In parallel, twelve studios are developing unprecedented project research using the Research by Design methodology, addressing everything from the context of Barcelona to global issues such as water or real estate market legislation.
The commitment to new generations is materialized with the International Emerging Workshop, led by twelve emerging practices and with an open call until January 10, which will bring together more than 180 students and young architects from around the world. In total, the different calls for the Congress have already received more than 2,000 international proposals from more than 90 countries.
The venues for the Congress will include the Barcelona International Convention Center, the Tres Chimeneas, the Disseny Hub Barcelona, and other spaces in the city.
Barcelona will host the Congress within the framework of the World Capital of Architecture 2026, with a program of activities that will extend throughout the year. The venues for the Congress will include the Barcelona International Convention Center (CCIB), the Tres Chimeneas, the Disseny Hub Barcelona, and other spaces distributed throughout different neighborhoods of the city, such as Montjuïc Castle or the Sagrada Familia, reinforcing the urban and open character of the event. Organized by the International Union of Architects, the Superior Council of Colleges of Architects of Spain, the College of Architects of Catalonia, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda, the Generalitat de Catalunya, and the Barcelona City Council, the Congress has been recognized as an event of exceptional public interest.
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