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.

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, ESOSOC, 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:

• Region I: Western Europe
• Region II: Eastern Europe
• Region III: The Americas
• Region IV: Asia and Oceania
• Region V: Africa

The governing bodies of the UIA are:

• The Assembly: the supreme body of the UIA composed of delegates from UIA Member Sections in addition to Council members.
• Council: between meetings of the Assembly, the Council is responsible for managing and directing the affairs of the Union. It is composed of 4 elected members from each of the UIA's five regions in addition to the Bureau members.
• Bureau: composed of the President, the Immediate Past President, the Secretary General, the Treasurer, and a Vice-President from each Region

• Sir Patrick Abercrombie, United Kingdom (1948–1953)
• Jean Tschumi, Switzerland (1953–1957)
• Hector Mardones Restat, Chile (1957–1961)
• Sir Robert Matthews, United Kingdom (1961–1965)
• Eugene Beaudouin, France (1965–1969)
• Ramon Corona Martin, Mexico (1969–1972)
• Georgui Orlov, USSR (1972–1975)
• Jai Rattan Bhalla, India (1975–1978)
• Louis de Moll, USA (1978–1981)
• Rafael De La Hoz, Spain (1981–1985)
• Georgi Stoilov, Bulgaria (1985–1987)
• Rod Hackney, United Kingdom (1987–1990)
• Olufemi Majekodunmi, Nigeria (1990–1993)
• Jaime Duro, Spain (1993–1996)
• Sara Topelson, Mexico (1996–1999)
• Vassilis Sgoutas, Greece (1999–2002)
• Jaime Lerner, Brazil (2002–2005)
• Gaetan Siew, Mauritius (2005–2008)
• Louise Cox, Australia (2008–2011)
• Albert Dubler, France (2011–2014)
• Esa Mohamed, Malaysia (2014–2017)
• Thomas Vonier, USA (2017–2021)
• José Luis Cortés, Mexico (2021–2023)

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

Nr.	Year	Location	Theme
1st	1948	Lausanne	Architecture Faced with its New Tasks
2nd	1951	Rabat	How Architecture is Dealing with its New Tasks
3rd	1953	Lisbon	Architecture at the Crossroads
4th	1955	The Hague	Architecture and the Evolutions of Building
5th	1958	Moscow	Construction and Reconstruction
6th	1961	London	New Techniques and New Materials
7th	1963	Havana	Architecture in Underdeveloped Countries
8th	1965	Paris	The Training of Architects
9th	1967	Prague	Architecture and the Human Milieu
10th	1969	Buenos Aires	Architecture as a Social Factor
11th	1972	Varna	Architecture and Leisure
12th	1975	Madrid	Creativity and Technology
13th	1978	Mexico City	Architecture and National Development
14th	1981	Warsaw	Architecture, Man, Environment
15th	1985	Cairo	Present and Future Missions of the Architect
16th	1987	Brighton	Shelter and Cities - Building Tomorrow's World
17th	1990	Montreal	Cultures and Technologies
18th	1993	Chicago	Architecture at the Crossroads - Designing for a Sustainable Future
19th	1996	Barcelona	Present and Futures. Architecture in Cities
20th	1999	Beijing	Architecture of the 21st Century
21st	2002	Berlin	Resource Architecture
22nd	2005	Istanbul	Grand Bazaar of Architectures
23rd	2008	Turin	Transmitting Architecture
24th	2011	Tokyo	DESIGN 2050 Beyond disasters, through Solidarity, towards Sustainability
25th	2014	Durban	Architecture otherwhere
26th	2017	Seoul	Soul of City
27th	2020	Rio de Janeiro	All Worlds. One World. Architecture in the 21st Century.[2]
28th	2023	Copenhagen	Design for a Sustainable Future[3]
29th	2026	Barcelona	One day, One tomorrow[4]

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.

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:

The UIA also awards the following five prizes:

• The Patrick Abercrombie Prize for Urban Planning and Design
• The Auguste Perret Prize for Technology in Architecture
• The Jean Tschumi Prize for Architectural Writing & Critique
• The Robert Matthew Prize for Sustainable & Humane Environments
• The Vassilis Sgoutas Prize for Implemented Architecture Serving the Impoverished

The UIA manages international architecture competitions.

• Georges Pompidou Centre, Paris
• Indira Gandhi Centre, New Delhi
• Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris
• National Museum of Seoul
• Prado National Museum, Madrid (rehabilitation and extension)
• Opera House, Sydney

• UIA official website