The International Union of Architects (French: Union Internationale des Architectes; UIA) is an international, democratic, non-governmental association that brings together national federations of architects. It was founded on 28 June 1948 in Lausanne, Switzerland.CIPAE (Accessed 20 August 2010). In 2010, it represented 124 countries and more than 1,300,000 architects.www.uia-architectes.org (Accessed 20 August 2010). The current president is Regina Gonthier of Switzerland, elected for the 2023–2026 term.
Overview 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:
Region I: Western Europe Region II: Eastern Europe Region III: The Americas Region IV: Asia and Oceania Region V: Africa
Governing bodies 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
Presidents The UIA has been presided over by:
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) Regina Gonthier, Switzerland (2023–2026)
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. 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. 28th 2023 Copenhagen Design for a Sustainable Future 29th 2026 Barcelona One day, One tomorrow
World Capital of Architecture On 23 November 2018, the UIA published a Memorandum of UnderstandingAbout the World Capital of Architecture, at: official webpage, consulted 1 August 2023. 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* 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 has also awarded 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 include:
Year Architect Country 1984 Hassan Fathy 1987 Reima Pietilä 1990 Charles Correa 1993 Fumihiko Maki 1996 Rafael Moneo 1999 Ricardo Legorreta Vilchis 2002 Renzo Piano 2005 Tadao Ando 2008 Teodoro González de León 2011 Álvaro Siza Vieira 2014 I. M. Pei 2017 Toyo Ito 2021 Paulo Mendes da Rocha 2026 Eduardo Souto de Moura
UIA Triennial Prizes 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
UIA Award for Innovation in Architectural Education
The UIA Award for Innovation in Architectural Education is organised by the UIA Architectural Education Commission. Established in 2019, it recognises architecture programmes or schools for their innovative pedagogical approaches.
Edition Laureates 2019–2021 The Royal Danish Academy, School of Architecture, Copenhagen, Denmark — Architectural Education Through On-Site Collaboration – Architecture and Extreme Environments — David A. Garcia University of Washington – Seattle, College of Built Environments, Department of Architecture, United States — Seminar: Traditional Building Methods: New Adaptations — Elizabeth M. Golden School of Architecture, Southeast University, Nanjing, China — Living Construction in Rural Communities — Zhang Tong, the staff and students at the School of Architecture School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, China — Sustainable Design Studio — Song Yehao 2021–2023 Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden — Design Activism Beyond Sustainability – Architectural Education based on Collaborative and Radical Pedagogy — Emilio Brandao, Shea Hagy Marco Adelfio and Liane Thuvander Department of Architecture, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey — Active Collaboration in Architectural Design Studio: Enhancing Knowledge Networks for Excellence in Pedagogical Practice — Semra Arslan Selçuk, Esra Özkan Yazgan and Aysenur Coskun Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, China — Building with Earth: A Mutual-educational Approach towards Sustainable Rural Revitalization Empowered by Traditional Wisdom — Mu Jun, Hao Shimeng, Jiang Wei, Zhou Tiegang, Jin Yibing and Ren Zhongqi Architectural Engineering & Technology Programme, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt — Sustainable Community Design and Social Development: Activating Spaces within Green and Healthy Corridors — Heba Allah Essam E. Khalil 2025–2026 Technological University Dublin, Ireland — Building Change — Bachelor of Architecture (Hons) Curriculum Reform Faculty of Architecture, University of Lima, Peru — Inclusive by Design: International Online Workshop on Universal Design and Inclusive Architectural Education Common Basic Cycle, FADU, University of Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina — (inter)acciones urbanas [Urban (Inter)Actions] – Cátedra Najmias, Taller de Proyectos – Introduction to Design Knowledge II South China University of Technology (SCUT), China — Proof of Design-Led Subtropical Sustainability: Dialogue, Build, Innovate University of Pretoria, South Africa — From Awareness to Co-Implementation: A Staged Pedagogy for Climate Justice, Spatial Justice, and Circular Material Practice
International design competitions 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
References
External links UIA official website