'Becoming' by the Numbers

It has been three years since the last UIA Congress (in Copenhagen), when Barcelona was named the UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture for 2026 and host of the 2026 UIA World Congress of Architects. It has been two years since Becoming: Architectures for a Planet in Transition was selected as the overarching theme for the Congress. One year ago, the curators put out their Open Call for Participants. With Monday's presentation of the full program, it is now just two months until the UIA World Congress of Architects 2026 Barcelona takes place, with thousands of architects expected to descend on Barcelona for the five-day event.

Not only was the open competition that led to the selection of the curators behind Becoming a first for the UIA Congress, the subsequent development of the theme and the participants in the Congress has resulted in a novel, city-wide program of panels, talks, parties, tours, exhibitions, and other events—a program so big it can be difficult to grasp in its entirety. To better parse the proceedings that are just 60 days away, we're presenting a numerical breakdown of the UIA World Congress of Architects 2026 Barcelona—from the number of organizers (3) to the number of professionals expected to attend (10,000).

• International Union of Architects (UIA), under President Regina Gonthier
• Higher Council of Architects’ Associations of Spain (CSCAE), under President Marta Vall-llossera
• Architects’ Association of Catalonia (COAC), under Dean Guillem Costa Calsamiglia

• Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB) will host the Congress conference sessions from June 29 until July 1.
• Disseny Hub Barcelona (DHub) will host talks plus the free exhibition of the UIA Member Sections and an exhibition on Catalan architecture as part of the Barcelona 2026 World Capital of Architecture.
• Three Chimneys, a former industrial complex in Sant Adrià de Besòs, will host the inaugural party; it will display the Central Exhibition, the Research by Design exhibition, and the results of the International Emerging Workshop; and it will host, on the esplanade, the Open Forum.

(Other, ancillary venues for the Congress include Sagrada Família, which will host the invitation-only award ceremony of the UIA Gold Medal (to Eduardo Souto de Moura) and the UIA Triennial Prizes, and Montjuïc Castle.)

• June 28: Inaugural party at Three Chimneys
• June 29: Congress Sessions at CCIB, plus tours, exhibitions, Open Forum, etc. elsewhere
• June 30: Congress Sessions at CCIB, plus tours, exhibitions, Open Forum, etc. elsewhere
• July 1: Congress Sessions at CCIB, plus tours, exhibitions, Open Forum, etc. elsewhere
• July 2: UIA awards and closing ceremony at CCIB

• Pau Bajet: Associate Professor of Architectural Design at ETSAB; teacher in Social Logics at MIAD, ETSALS-URL; co-founder, with Maria Giramé, of Bajet Giramé.
• Mariona Benedito: Associate Professor of Architectural Design at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia; Associate Professor and Coordinator at IE School of Architecture & Design; founder of eponymous studio.
• Maria Giramé: Associate Professor of Architectural Design at ETSALS-URL; co-founder, with Pau Bajet, of Bajet Giramé.
• Tomeu Ramis: Associate Professor of Architectural Design at Washington University and at Polytechnic University of Catalonia; co-founder of FLEXOarquitectura.
• Pau Sarquella: Associate Professor of Architectural Design at EPS ARQ Girona University and at ETSALS-URL; co-founder, with Carmen Torres, of Sarquella Torres Architects.
• Carmen Torres: Associate Professor of Architectural Design at ETSAV UPC; co-founder, with Pau Sarquella, of Sarquella Torres Architects.

• Becoming More-than-human explores ecology, ecosystems and climate.
• Becoming Circular focuses on reuse and the life cycles of buildings.
• Becoming Embodied analyses material technologies.
• Becoming Interdependent reflects on spatial policies, housing, and public space.
• Becoming Hyper-Conscious examines data, geopolitics, and legislation.
• Becoming Attuned focuses on poetics, aesthetics, and culture.

(For more information on the themes, read our piece “Six Themes Across Three Days.”)

Research by Design, one of the core formats within the Congress, “brings together research and architectural practice to address today’s environmental, social, and political challenges through concrete and transformative projects.” The curators selected twelve teams, each of which will participate in the Congress Sessions and display their work in the exhibition at Three Chimneys.

• A JDVIV / IVJDV A (Belgium)
• Anna Puigjaner together with Care., MAIO and Pol Esteve (Switzerland and Spain)
• Atelier Bow-Wow (Japan)
• Baukunst + Structural Xploration Lab (Belgium and Switzerland)
• BC architects & studies & materials (Belgium)
• Brandlhuber+ and HouseEurope! (Germany)
• Bruther (France and Switzerland)
• Colectivo C733 (Mexico)
• Dirk Sijmons and the HH+N+S team (Netherlands)
• Eva Franch i Gilabert and TAKK (Spain)
• Forensic Architecture (UK)
• H Arquitectes (Spain)

More than 70 routes, curated by AMOO (Aureli Mora + Omar Ornaque), will offer the opportunity to traverse parts of Barcelona and its surroundings over eleven days, between June 25 and July 5. The tours are structured are according to the six Becoming themes, with two routes per each presented daily: six routes in the morning and six in the afternoon. Additionally, six full-day regional routes will venture beyond the metropolitan area along six axes: Mataró–Blanes, Girona–Banyoles, Vic–Olot, Igualada–Lleida, Manresa–Berga, and Tarragona–Reus. Finally, there will be a maritime tour exploring Barcelona from the sea. Tours will leave from CCIB and return to CCIB and Three Chimneys.

The heart of the UIC Congress is the three-day program that consists of more than 100 sessions taking place on eight stages at CCIB. Each day begins and ends with Plenary Sessions, each one moderated by one of the so-called “critical antagonists” and focusing on one of the Becoming themes; in between are dozens of presentations that correspond to that day's themes. With eight stages and a solid line-up of speakers—Lacaton & Vassal, Shigeru Ban, Amateur Architecture Studio, Smiljan Radić, and Architecten Jan de Vylder Inge Vinck, to name just a few—attendees are encouraged to pore over the schedule to find the sessions most to their liking.

Published by Park Books in conjunction with the UIA Congress and edited by Pau Bajet, Mariona Benedito, Maria Giramé, Tomeu Ramis, Pau Sarquella, and Carmen Torres, Becoming: Architectures for a Planet in Transition will feature essays, research-by-design projects, and a series of interviews with the critical antagonists—all reflecting the Open Call for Participants that launched in 2025. The companion book is expected to be available at the start of the UIA Congress in late June.

That is the number of architects, educators, students, institutional representatives, and other professionals that are expected to attend the UIA World Congress of Architects 2026 Barcelona. Advance-rate tickets are available only until April 29.

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