International Union of Architects

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The International Union of Architects [1] (French: Union internationale des Architectes; UIA) is the only international non-governmental organization that represents the world's architects, now estimated to number some 3.2 million in all.

Contents

About

The UIA was founded on 28 June 1948 in Lausanne, Switzerland, following the merger of the Comité permanent international des Architectes and the Réunion International des Architectes. Its General Secretariat is located in Paris. The organisation is recognised as the only global architecture organisation by most United Nations agencies, including UNESCO, UNCHS, ECOSOC, UNIDO and the World Health Organization as well as the WTO. The current (2023–2026) president is Regina Gonthier from Switzerland.

Through its Member Sections, the UIA is represented in over 100 countries and territories, geographically grouped into five regions:

Governing bodies

The governing bodies of the UIA are:

Presidents

Congresses

The UIA World Congresses are key events for professional and cultural exchange among all the world's architects, bringing together thousands of participants from around the globe. Each event focuses on a different architecture-related theme, developed by eminent personalities from the international architectural, planning and construction fields. Debates, exhibitions, tours and networking events make the UIA Congresses the perfect meeting place for experts, colleagues, friends, and students of architecture.

UIA Congresses are organised by a host UIA Member Section. Congress bids are submitted to the UIA General Assembly and selected by vote six years in advance of the event.

List of congresses from 1948 to 2026

USSR stamp and souvenir sheet of 1958 dedicated to the 5th World Congress of Architecture
1958 CPA 2173.jpg
Bloc of USSR 2175.jpg
Nr.YearLocationTheme
1st1948 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Lausanne Architecture Faced with its New Tasks
2nd1951 Flag of Morocco.svg Rabat How Architecture is Dealing with its New Tasks
3rd1953 Flag of Portugal.svg Lisbon Architecture at the Crossroads
4th1955 Flag of the Netherlands.svg The Hague Architecture and the Evolutions of Building
5th1958 Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Moscow Construction and Reconstruction
6th1961 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg London New Techniques and New Materials
7th1963 Flag of Cuba.svg Havana Architecture in Underdeveloped Countries
8th1965 Flag of France.svg Paris The Training of Architects
9th1967 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Prague Architecture and the Human Milieu
10th1969 Flag of Argentina.svg Buenos Aires Architecture as a Social Factor
11th1972 Flag of Bulgaria.svg Varna Architecture and Leisure
12th1975 Flag of Spain.svg Madrid Creativity and Technology
13th1978 Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico City Architecture and National Development
14th1981 Flag of Poland.svg Warsaw Architecture, Man, Environment
15th1985 Flag of Egypt.svg Cairo Present and Future Missions of the Architect
16th1987 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Brighton Shelter and Cities - Building Tomorrow's World
17th1990 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Montreal Cultures and Technologies
18th1993 Flag of the United States.svg Chicago Architecture at the Crossroads - Designing for a Sustainable Future
19th1996 Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona Present and Futures. Architecture in Cities
20th1999 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Beijing Architecture of the 21st Century
21st2002 Flag of Germany.svg Berlin Resource Architecture
22nd2005 Flag of Turkey.svg Istanbul Grand Bazaar of Architectures
23rd2008 Flag of Italy.svg Turin Transmitting Architecture
24th2011 Flag of Japan.svg Tokyo DESIGN 2050 Beyond disasters, through Solidarity, towards Sustainability
25th2014 Flag of South Africa.svg Durban Architecture otherwhere
26th2017 Flag of South Korea.svg Seoul Soul of City
27th2020 Flag of Brazil.svg Rio de Janeiro All Worlds. One World. Architecture in the 21st Century. [2]
28th2023 Flag of Denmark.svg Copenhagen Design for a Sustainable Future [3]
29th2026 Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona One day, One tomorrow [4]

World Capital of Architecture

On 23 November 2018, the UIA published a Memorandum of Understanding [5] with UNESCO on the new joint label World Capital of Architecture. The title is awarded every three years, according to the rhythm of the UIA World Congresses. Since 2020, the world congress has always taken place in the respective world capital. There is a formal application process for this. The World Congress selects the World Capital for the year of the next World Congress from the shortlist of applications, the formal announcement being made by the Secretary General of UNESCO. In 2020 Rio de Janeiro was the world capital of architecture, 2023 Copenhagen [6] and 2026 Barcelona. A program and a series of major events take place in the respective world capital throughout the calendar year.

UIA Gold Medal

Since 1984 the organisation also awards the UIA Gold Medal to honour an architect (or group of architects) having distinguished themselves through their work and professional practice by the quality of services rendered to man and society. Past recipients of the award were:

YearArchitectCountry
1984 Hassan Fathy Egypt
1987 Reima Pietilä Finland
1990 Charles Correa India
1993 Fumihiko Maki Japan
1996 Rafael Moneo Spain
1999 Ricardo Legorreta Vilchis Mexico
2002 Renzo Piano Italy
2005 Tadao Ando Japan
2008 Teodoro Gonzalez de Leon Mexico
2011 Álvaro Siza Vieira Portugal
2014 Ieoh Ming Pei USA
2017 Toyo Ito Japan
2021 Paulo Mendes da Rocha Brazil

UIA Triennial Prizes

The UIA also awards the following five prizes:

International design competitions

The UIA manages international architecture competitions.

References

  1. Website. "UIA – INTERNATIONAL UNION OF ARCHITECTS". UIA - INTERNATIONAL UNION OF ARCHITECTS (in French). Retrieved 2021-09-02.
  2. "The IAB presents the official logo of the 2020 UIA congress in Rio | INTERNATIONAL UNION OF ARCHITECTS". 2017-11-13. Archived from the original on 2017-11-13. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  3. "Homepage". UIA 2023 CPH. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
  4. "UIA" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-09-02.
  5. About the World Capital of Architecture, at: official webpage, consulted 1 August 2023.