Under the theme Becoming. Architectures for a Planet in Transition, the programme is structured around six thematic axes — Becoming More-than-Human, Becoming Circular, Becoming Embodied, Becoming Interdependent, Becoming Hyper-Conscious and Becoming Attuned — and unfolds across a variety of formats, venues and activities Here is an overview of its key features.
SPEAKERS — The speaker panel brings together voices from around the world in a balanced representation in territorial, generational and gender terms. Among the speakers are figures recognised with the Pritzker Prize: Lacaton & Vassal, Shigeru Ban, Amateur Architecture Studio and the most recent winner in 2026, Smiljan Radić. Also joining are the latest winners of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award, the practice Architecten Jan de Vylder Inge Vinck, together with winners of previous editions such as Lacol and Arquitectura G.
OPEN FORUM — The Open Forum will be an innovative format taking place in the afternoons on the Three Chimneys esplanade, an open space by the sea that will serve as a setting for open exchange and collective debate. Through the construction of various ephemeral elements — all rented and generating no waste — a set of platforms will be configured, including a stand with a capacity of 1,500 people, as well as service and bar elements. All speakers will gather in a single space, extending the day’s conversations and blurring the boundaries between audience and participants.
ITINERARIES — One of the most distinctive features of the Congress is its itineraries programme, which unfolds through more than 70 routes curated by AMOO in Barcelona and its surrounding area. From 25 June to 5 July 2026, metropolitan, territorial and maritime itineraries will be activated, including visits to iconic sites by Antoni Gaudí and Josep Maria Jujol, contemporary works by Enric Miralles or Ricardo Bofill and award-winning interventions by H Arquitectes, Flores & Prats, Lacol or Cierto Estudio, including spaces that will open exceptionally for the event. A distinctive route is the maritime connection aboard the Golondrinas, a nod to the —partly conflictive— relationship between the city and tourism.
RESEARCH BY DESIGN — The Research by Design format explores new ways of intervening on the existing from experimental and critical approaches. Twelve practices are carrying out unprecedented research addressing some of the most urgent challenges, such as access to housing and the climate crisis. HouseEurope! with Brandlhuber+ place the transformation of the existing building stock at the heart of the European debate, while voices such as Anna Puigjaner, together with Care., MAIO and Pol Esteve, reflect on inclusive architectures that reframe domestic structures from a feminist perspective.
CENTRAL EXHIBITION — The Central Exhibition, of more than 4,000 m², at Three Chimneys, will present the results of the Research by Design programme, materialised in models, prototypes, audiovisual pieces and full-scale installations. It will also include the results of the International Emerging Workshop and a selection of projects from the UNESCO-UIA student competition. It will be open to the public from 19 to 27 June and from 3 to 19 July.
INTERNATIONAL EMERGING WORKSHOPS — The week prior to the Congress, from 19 to 27 June, will see the development of international workshops bringing together around 180 students and young architects at Three Chimneys. Led by leading studios and collectives such as the British Assemble, the Spanish BeAr, the architecture association TEN or the Franco-Chilean studio Plan Común, the workshops will conclude with a series of free-admission lectures open to the public on 24, 25 and 26 June.
Over 5 days, from 28 June to 2 July, the Congress will bring together 10,000 participants and 250 speakers in more than 100 sessions. Three decades after hosting the UIA Congress in 1996, Barcelona will once again become the epicentre of the global architectural debate in a format that transcends the conventional congress model, opening up to the city and the territory.