UIA International Student Competition

Catalysts of Resilience

The UIA World Congress of Architects 2026 Barcelona (UIA2026BCN) announces the UIA International Student Competition, an invitation for students from around the world to engage with the Congress's core theme Becoming. Architectures for a planet in transition.



Participants are 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 future.

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 UIA 2026 Congress theme: Becoming. Architectures for a Planet in Transition that 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.

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 text must be submitted in english.

An international jury

An internationally renowned jury will evaluate the proposals, composed of Tatiana Bilbao (Mexico), Josep Ferrando (Spain, Jury President), Marianna Rentzou from Point Supreme (Greece), Sumayya Vally from Counterspace (South Africa) and Wtanya Chanvitan from Bangkok Tokyo Architecture (Thailand and Japan), with two alternate jurors —Entropia Studio (Colombia) and Donn Holohan from 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.

Calendar

15 July 2025 – Competition launch

15 September 2025 – Deadline for questions

24 September 2025 – Deadline for answers

07 November 2025 – Deadline for registrations

07 November 2025 – Deadline for submission of entries

January 2026 – Announcement of results

Awards

The prizes will be distributed as follows:

5.000 € for the 1st Prize

4.000 € for the 2nd prize

3.000 € for the 3rd prize

2.000 € for the 4th prize

1.000 € for the 5th prize

Additionally, all winners will receive free admission to the Congress, with travel expenses covered.

For technical issues, please contact competitions@uia-architectes.org

Visit uia2026bcn.org for more information

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).