The UIA World Congress of Architects 2026 in Barcelona invites students from around the world to join this competition, exploring how architecture can adapt and respond to social, political, and climate challenges;
The top five projects will receive prizes of up to €5,000, official certificates and free Congress admission, offering international recognition for emerging architectural talent;
Proposals will be evaluated by a distinguished international jury featuring Tatiana Bilbao, Josep Ferrando, Marianna Rentzou, Sumayya Vally, Alejandro Vargas and Donn Holohan of and Wtanya Chanvitan;
Competition details
The UIA World Congress of Architects 2026 Barcelona (UIA2026BCN) announces the UIA International Student Competition, an invitation for students from all over the world to participate with their proposals around the Congress’s central theme: Becoming. Architectures for a planet in transition.
Participants will be challenged to design spatial interventions that enable resistance and adaptation to predictable threats related to political shifts, social transformations and climate change, among other concerns. This competition asks students to think beyond conventional design methods, using time as a design strategy to catalyse resilient futures.
This single-stage student ideas competition is organised and conducted in accordance with the UNESCO Standard Regulations for International Competitions in Architecture and Town planning and the UIA best practice recommendations. The competition brief has been developed by the UIA2026BCN Curatorial Team and organised by the Higher Council of the Orders of Architects of Spain (CSCAE) and the Architect’s Association of Catalonia (COAC).
Becoming. Architectures for a planet in transition
The call is aligned with the UIA2026BCN’s central theme: Becoming. Architectures for a Planet in Transition, which will shape the Congress programme as a platform to explore innovative perspectives, interdisciplinary approaches and transformative ideas that address contemporary challenges.
Students are encouraged to think of architecture not as a final result, but as a dynamic and adaptive process. Rather than proposing static projects, participants are encouraged to consider careful, time-based processes of transformation that respect and nurture the physical and cultural realities of the chosen site.
An international jury
An internationally renowned jury will evaluate the proposals, composed of Tatiana Bilbao (Mexico), Josep Ferrando (Spain, Jury President), Marianna Rentzou of Point Supreme and Sumayya Vally of Counterspace (Greece) and Wtanya Chanvitan of Bangkok Tokyo Architecture (Thailand and Japan), with two alternate jurors —Alejandro Vargas of Entropia Studio (Colombia) and Donn Holohan of Superposition (China) —alongside the curatorial team and an observer appointed by the UIA.
The jury will ensure that submissions respond rigorously to the theme “Catalysts of Resilience”, assessing conceptual coherence, contextual sensitivity, clarity of presentation and long-term transformative potential.
Eligibility
Participants must be full-time registered students and may join either individually or as part of a team, from anywhere in the world. While multidisciplinary collaboration is encouraged, only students enrolled in programs of architecture, landscape architecture, urban design or urban planning are eligible to register as authors or co-authors. Students from other academic disciplines may participate in the competition as collaborators.
Format
Proposals should be represented through a sequence of three single drawings (found sites, short-term proposals and long-term developments). Each of these drawings should be produced as a complex, rich representation, perhaps even as a compound drawing informed by captions and diagrams, while maintaining a certain unity as a document. Each panel must include a text of up to 250 words explaining its content. All texts must be submitted in English.
Calendar
15 July 2025 – Competition launch
07 November 2025 – Deadline for registrations
07 November 2025 – Deadline for submission of entries
January 2026 – Announcement of results
Awards
Prizes will be distributed as follows:
5.000 euros for the first prize
4.000 euros for the second prize
3.000 euros for the third prize
2.000 euros for the fourth prize
1.000 euros for the fifth prize
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The Congress is organised by the International Union of Architects (UIA). The organisation of this edition is led by the Higher Council of the Orders of Architects of Spain (CSCAE) in collaboration with the Architect’s Association of Catalonia (COAC) and is made possible thanks to the drive and support of the Barcelona City Council, the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda (MIVAU).
Press Area
UIA World Congress of Architects 2026 Barcelona
Press Office: Labóh
Miriam Giordano / Lesly Noguerón
press@uia2026bcn.org