Becoming: Architectures for a planet in transition
March 31–May 23, 2025
The UIA World Congress of Architects 2026 Barcelona (UIA2026BCN) announces the Call for Participants, an international and open invitation for professionals from around the world to take part in the largest global architecture event.
The theme Becoming. Architectures for a planet in transition will shape the Congress programme as a platform to explore innovative perspectives, interdisciplinary approaches and transformative ideas that address contemporary challenges.
Professionals from architecture, landscape architecture, urbanism, design, engineering, research, photography, film and art are invited to participate with projects, essays or multimedia pieces. Through this call, UIA2026BCN aims to bring together knowledge across research, practice and education to generate new perspectives and strengthening connections between disciplines.
The UIA World Congress of Architects 2026 Barcelona is organized by the Higher Council of Spanish Colleges of Architect’s Guilds (CSCAE), in collaboration with the Architects ́ Association of Catalonia (COAC) and the participation and financing of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda, the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Barcelona City Council.
Becoming. Architectures for a planet in transition.
Becoming explores spatial practices that foster processes of appropriation and transformation of the inhabited environment —both human and nonhuman, individual and collective—investigating the potential of time as a design tool. Far from the idea of tabula rasa, it is rooted in a deep awareness of preexisting physical and cultural landscapes.
Becoming promotes the transformation of the existing reality, addressing the relationship between the urgency of contemporary challenges and a long-term perspective that unfolds through six lines of research: Becoming More-than-human, Becoming Attuned, Becoming Embodied, Becoming Interdependent, Becoming Hyper-Conscious and Becoming Circular.
The proposals can be submitted in the following categories:
–Critical Design: Architectural projects, industrial design, prototypes and explorations in design methodologies.
–Critical Essay: Essays, academic papers and research articles.
–Critical Image: Photographs, films and multimedia pieces.
Process
The UIA2026BCN Scientific Committee and the Evaluation Committee will evaluate the proposals from broad and cross-disciplinary perspectives. After an initial pre-selection by subject matter experts, a jury composed of internationally renowned professionals, as well as the Congress curatorial team, will make the final selection.
Accepted proposals will be part of the central events of the UIA2026BCN Congress between 28 June and 2 July 2026. The jury will determine the form of participation, which may include individual presentations, debates or other planned formats. Additionally, it will decide whether the selected works will be exhibited physically or digitally at the Congress exhibition and whether they will be published in the official catalogue.
Submitting to the Call for Participants is completely free of charge.
Calendar
–March 31, 2025: Launch of the call for participants
–May 23, 2025: Submission deadline
–September 30, 2025: Announcement of selected proposals
–June 28–July 2, 2026: UIA World Congress of Architects 2026
Present your proposal here. For any enquiries, please contact callsfor@uia2026bcn.org.
Launch event
The official launch event of the UIA World Congress of Architects 2026 Barcelona will take place on 14 April 2025 at 10am (CEST). The event is open to the public, subject to registration, and will also be streamed on Youtube.
Attendance in person: Assembly Hall, 1st floor of the headquarters of the Architects' Association of Catalonia (COAC) Barcelona, Spain.
Register here. Streaming here.
Media enquiries: press@uia2026bcn.org
