The International Barcelona Convention Centre will be one of the main venues for the UIA World Congress of Architects 2026, as Barcelona prepares to welcome more than 10,000 professionals from over 130 countries from 28 June to 2 July 2026.
Organised by the International Union of Architects, the CSCAE and the Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya, the congress will bring together architects, urban planners, researchers, academics, students and institutional representatives to discuss the future of architecture in a period of major environmental, social and urban transition.
Under the theme “Becoming. Architectures for a Planet in Transition”, the programme will explore six thematic pillars: ecology, circular economy, materials, urban policies, data and culture. Around one hundred sessions are planned, including conferences, debates, workshops, open forums and research presentations.
Managed by Fira de Barcelona, the CCIB will host most of the congress’s professional activity, including plenary and parallel sessions, statutory meetings, working groups of the UIA and the official closing ceremony. The event will occupy 10,393 m² of the venue, using almost all its conference rooms and part of its multipurpose space.
The congress forms part of Barcelona’s designation as UNESCO–UIA World Capital of Architecture 2026. It will also mark a historic return: Barcelona will become the first city to host the UIA World Congress of Architects for a second time, thirty years after the 1996 edition.