Barcelona will be the global focal point for architecture in 2026, chosen by UNESCO and the International Union of Architects. The city thus becomes the only place in the world to host the UIA congress for a second time, which on this occasion is being held under the title “Becoming. Architectures for a planet in transition”. The programme of activities for the World Capital of Architecture 2026, to be held from Santa Eulàlia until Santa Llúcia, includes over 1,500 activities with the collaboration of 170 organisations around the city’s ten districts.
With the goal of reconnecting people with architecture and promoting the importance of this discipline in everyday life, a programme has been designed to appeal to all audiences: general, professional and educational, with activities devoted specifically to schools.
The inauguration was on 12 February, the day of Santa Eulàlia, and the closing day will be 13 December, Santa Llúcia. This ten-month period will see each of the districts taking monthly turns as the focal point for the World Capital of Architecture, promoting their own architectural and urban aspects and their pace of life.
The programme includes exhibitions, guided tours, lectures and workshops. Details can be found on the World Capital of Architecture website, with notable activities to include the Open Neighbourhood in Nou Barris, Sants-Montjuïc and Sarrià – Sant Gervasi, the workshop “The city we want”, for children aged from 8 to 12, the exhibition “Jujol” at the MNAC and the exhibitions at the former head office of the Gustavo Gil publishing company: “Barcelona: intense, diverse and complex”, and “Barcelona in transformation. 2035”.
A legacy for the city
The World Capital of Architecture will endure in the city through the legacy it leaves, materialised by a large scale model of Barcelona on display at the former head office of the Gustavo Gil publishing company and in the renovation of party walls on ten city buildings, the result of an international competition to enrich the urban landscape and improve the liveability and sustainability of the buildings. In the autumn, as a prelude to this event, the same venue will be inaugurating the exhibition “From party walls to façades”, explaining the process and the winning projects in this international competition that attracted 439 entries from 51 countries around the globe.
You can find full information on the World Capital of Architecture at capitalmundialarquitectura.barcelona.
