Arguably the most famous city in Spain, Barcelona is still increasing in world popularity. This year, it was named Architectural Capital of the world.
UNESCO and the UIA ( International Union of Architects) elected the capital of Cataluña to be this year’s architectural example and global leader. If you are in Barcelona this year, you should expect a massive line-up of events that are planned to take place throughout the whole year, such as ‘architectural open days’ which will open historical and cultural places and museums to the public that would usually be open; local neighbourhood events; and Gaudí focused events and exhibitions. The main event will be the UIA World Congress of Architects, which will be held between the 28th June and 2nd July. This major international event will have over 10,000 participants, architects from over 130 countries as well as around 250 speakers and over 100 sessions. This year’s theme will be around “Becoming. Architectures for a Planet in Transition” and will cover recent topics such as AI and architecture, carbon-footprint, climate change, sustainability and social housing.
Barcelona was chosen not only because of its iconic and historic architecture and buildings, recognized by us all, but also due to its influential urban planning, strong contemporary architecture culture, and focus on sustainability and public space. In the city’s proposal it stated that architecture was something to be lived and enjoyed in everyday life not just through monuments and tourism, and promised to use Barcelona as ‘living laboratory’ to explore new urban planning ideas.
Barcelona is also home to some of the most influential architects: Antoni Gaudí, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Josep Puig i Cadafalch, who all explored Gothic, Modernisme, rationalist, and contemporary architecture, which positions Barcelona with an architectural legacy.
Ildefons Cerdà, although less famous than Gaudi, is the urban planner who designed the recognizable, gridded layout of the city allowing a more organised, sustainable and open city plan. This 2026, is especially important for Barcelona due to it marking the 100th anniversary since the death of Gaudi and 150 years since the death of Cerda.
In conclusion, I believe we can agree Barcelona is a worthy winner for this year due to its historical, cultural and modern influence on architecture and urban planning. If you are interested in any of these events, they will take place until October. We chatted about this topic on our recent show:
