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Barcelona Design Museum building, next to the Agbar tower, in the Glòries square in Barcelona. Gianluca battista
The world of architecture will only have eyes for Barcelona in 2026, after the International Union of Architects (UIA) decided this afternoon in Rio de Janeiro that the Catalan city would become the UIA-Unesco World Capital of Architecture that year. , in addition to also hosting the prestigious congress of the entity itself.
Barcelona, which was designated a finalist at the beginning of 2020, has prevailed over Beijing by 147 votes to 129. Barcelona's nomination has been promoted by the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, the Barcelona City Council , the Superior Council of the Colleges of Architects of Spain (CSCAE) and the College of Architects of Catalonia (COAC), in a union of forces that recalls collective initiatives such as those that led to the celebration of the 1992 Olympic Games or the Forum of Cultures in 2004.
The decision was made in Rio de Janeiro, which currently holds the title of World Capital of Architecture.
The Brazilian city will maintain that distinction until 2023, when Copenhagen will hand it over.
It will be the Danish capital that in 2026 passes the precious witness to Barcelona.
Multidisciplinary cultural activities in collaboration with experts from various countries around the world to convey to society the importance of architecture and urbanism make up one of the great attractions of the designation, but the real star event is the celebration of the congress, which is held it has been convening since 1948. And Barcelona has experience of that, insofar as in 1996 it already welcomed one, under the heading
Present and future: architecture in cities
. The success surprised everyone: the massive presence of the most brilliant architects of the moment was joined by more than 10,000 congressmen from 87 countries. The international echo was notorious. Under that memory, the motto of the Congress for 2026 will be
a today, tomorrow
(
One today, one tomorrow)
, and the axis will be in an exhaustive analysis on the role of architecture in the development of cities and the new urban challenges in a sustainable world. "
"The celebration of this event is a great opportunity to strengthen the role of Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain as centers of production and thought of contemporary architecture and urban design," the CSCAE assured in a note. The Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning of the Catalan Town Hall, Janet Sanz, welcomed the decision and assured that the election will position Barcelona as a “cultural, social and economic benchmark”. "The city is more than prepared to lead the transformation necessary to make architecture and urban planning two tools at the service of sustainability and to make cities durable spaces in the face of environmental challenges," Sanz stressed.
In any case, the event is also seen as a respite in the city's international image, after the bitter disappointments caused by the failed candidacies of the Catalan capital to host the European Medicines and Meteorology agencies.
