UIA & Partners Program
UIA Working Bodies Sessions
UIA Sessions
Partners Sessions
At Stages 9 to 14, the UIA World Congress of Architects Barcelona 2026 will host a programme of talks, round tables and conferences promoted by the Congress Partners — Holcim, Roca, HP, Kave Home and VELUX — together with the UIA Working Bodies and UIA representatives.
These spaces will bring together international professionals and researchers to encourage knowledge exchange and dialogue around today’s key challenges related to sustainability, innovation, habitat, public space and territorial transformation.
Through thematic sessions and professional encounters, the programme will reinforce the international, collaborative and multidisciplinary character of the Congress.
Architecture and Society
Architecture for All:
Accessibility and inclusion within the built environment.
Architecture and Children:
Education and awareness of architecture from early childhood.
Heritage and Cultural Identity:
Heritage conservation and its relationship with cultural identity.
Habitat and Community
Social Habitat:
Addressing social inequality through architecture.
Community Architecture and Human Rights:
Links between architecture, human rights, and sustainability.
Architecture, Cities and Territories:
Relationships between urban planning, intermediate cities, and territorial development.
Public Spaces and Wellbeing
Public Health:
Design approaches that protect and enhance people’s health.
Public Spaces:
Analysis and promotion of high-quality public spaces.
Educational and Cultural Spaces:
Design of educational and cultural spaces with social impact.
Sports and Leisure:
Quality in sports and leisure facilities.
Specific Contexts and Global Challenges
Indigenous Peoples:
Promotion of design grounded in indigenous knowledge systems.
Informal Settlements:
Exchange of good practices in informal settlements.
Natural and Human Disasters:
Preparedness and the role of architecture in natural and human-made disasters.
Main Commissions and Their Areas of Focus
Architectural Education Commission
Acts as a think tank on global architectural education policy, proposing guidelines and analyses on educational practices and learning outcomes in architecture.
International Competitions & Awards Commission
Provides specialized consultancy for international competitions and awards, promoting fair, transparent, and high-quality architectural competition processes.
Professional Practice Commission
Implements and promotes the UIA Accord on International Standards of Professionalism in Architectural Practice, guiding professional standards, international mobility, and best practices within the profession.
Sustainability Commission
Examines the concept of sustainability from an architectural perspective, linking it to broader frameworks, including global agreements and context-based development.
UN 17 SDGs Commission
Directly addresses the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, promoting their understanding, dissemination, and implementation within global architectural practice.
UNESCO-UIA Validation Commission
Establishes international standards of excellence for architectural education
through the validation of academic programmes, ensuring academic quality and prestige in collaboration with UNESCO.