On 2 June 2025, the UIA2026BCN Call for Participants officially closed, having received more than 1,500 submissions from 88 countries and regions.
Launched to foster transdisciplinary exchange and amplify diverse voices in both academic and professional discourse, the Call invited proposals in three formats:
Critical Design
Critical Essay
Critical Image
The outstanding response reflects a growing interest, across disciplines and geographies, in contributing to the Congress and in engaging with urgent conversations about the role of architecture in shaping the future of cities, territories, and ways of living.
Each format will be reviewed by an international jury of experts from a range of disciplines aligned with the Congress’s research themes.
For the Critical Design format, the jury includes architect Carlos Facio, co-founder of Colectivo C733; landscape architect Catherine Mosbach, founder of Mosbach Paysagistes; architect Kersten Geers, co-founder of OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen; and Xu Tian Tian, architect and director of DnA_Design and Architecture. Carmen Torres and Mariona Benedito participate on behalf of the UIA2026BCN Curatorial Team.
The jury for the Critical Image it is composed of Giovanna Borasi, architect, editor, curator, and director of the Canadian Centre for Architecture; filmmaker Louise Lemoine, co-founder of Bêka & Lemoine; architectural photographer Maxime Delvaux; and architect and curator Urtzi Grau, co-founder of Fake Industries Architectural Agonism. Maria Giramé and Pau Sarquella participate on behalf of the Curatorial Team.
For the Critical Essay format, the jury brings together architect, designer and professor Keller Easterling; architect, engineer, historian and curator Lydia Kallipoliti; architect, researcher and curator Marina Otero; art and architecture historian Philip Ursprung; and architect, historian and professor Samia Henni. The jury also includes urbanist and professor Raquel Rolnik. Pau Bajet and Tomeu Ramis participate on behalf of the UIA2026BCN Curatorial Team.
Selected contributions will take part in UIA2026BCN in the form of lectures, exhibitions, and/or inclusion in the official Congress catalogue.
The UIA2026BCN Call for Participants officially closed, having received more than 1,500 submissions from 88 countries and regions.