The streets and squares of Barcelona will radiate architecture in summer 2026. The city will become the epicenter of the debate on architecture and its contribution to current challenges from June 28 to July 3 next year, and it will do so with proposals spread throughout the city, although with two main poles: the Tres Xemeneies of Sant Adrià de Besòs and the Disseny Hub of Barcelona.
The two main venues of the World Congress of Architecture, connected by tram, will be complemented by other emblematic locations, such as the Sagrada Família, where the awards for this edition will be presented; the Castell de Montjuïc, where the closing ceremony will be held, and the Moll de la Marina, where the popular closing ceremony will take place, before passing the baton to Beijing 2029.
"Barcelona will radiate architecture from all its corners to become a global showcase and a space for reflection," said the dean of the Col·legi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya (Coac) and director of the congress, Guim Costa. By hosting it, Barcelona will not only become the world center of architecture during the event, but also the first city in the world to host the congress twice, which was already held in the Catalan capital in 1996. In addition, by hosting the event, the city will also serve as the World Capital of Architecture 2026.
The congress, held every three years since 1948 by the International Union of Architects (UIA), will fill Barcelona and its surroundings with architecture under the motto Becoming. Architectures for a Planet in Transition, and with the expectation of attracting more than 10,000 professionals. The international event will include workshops and sessions with some 200 speakers to reflect on the role of architecture in addressing the main challenges of society. Among other issues, it will focus on sustainability, circularity, materials, and how spaces can or cannot foster interrelationships, solidarity, and mutual care.
Among the various challenges of cities in which architecture has much to say, the difficulties of access to housing stand out, as highlighted by the Minister of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition, Sílvia Paneque, who also focused on the architecture of facilities and public space, through a "balanced urban development that coheses the territory."
From the City Council, Deputy Mayor Laia Bonet has also looked towards housing, "the city's biggest challenge, which needs brave, sustainable and equitable solutions," as well as the climate emergency, according to her: "Facing all this will only be possible if we understand architecture as public policy."
Barcelona as a laboratory
The congress will not only explore how to respond to these challenges, but will generate "an architectural explosion that must leave a legacy," Bonet added. And this legacy can go beyond the palpable, as the event does not want to be a stage where knowledge is simply exchanged, but also created. To do this, it will use Barcelona as "the laboratory in which to study this knowledge, in a practical way." It will do so through a dozen projects, as detailed by the congress's curatorial team, formed by Maria Giramé, Pau Bajet, Mariona Benedito, Tomeu Ramis, Carmen Torres and Pau Sarquella.
"The city becomes another agent in the debate and shared experience," Benedito added. In this sense, the Catalan capital "will become the global center of architectural thought, urban debate and commitment to a more human and habitable future," as defended by the president of the congress and of the Superior Council of Architects' Associations of Spain, Marta Vall-llossera, who spoke alongside the Secretary General of Urban Agenda, Housing and Architecture of the Government, Iñaqui Carnicero. Thus, the international meeting is already preparing with an aspiration, according to the vice president of the UIA, Teresa Táboas: "It will be a disruptive congress that will broaden the perspective of architects."