Caring architecture: World Architecture Day 2025
Why do we celebrate World Architecture Day?
Since 1996, every first Monday in October, architects, urban planners, and citizens around the world celebrate World Architecture Day, a date promoted by the International Union of Architects (UIA).
Its goal: to remind us that architecture is a fundamental tool for building a more sustainable, inclusive, and humane future.
Over the years, the UIA has proposed slogans that invite reflection on global challenges:
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“Architecture for Resilient Communities” (2022)
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“Architecture for Well-being” (2023)
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“Architecture for a Changing World” (2024)
And in 2025, the message looks ahead.
2025 slogan: “We are designing the future now”
This year, the slogan chosen by the UIA—“Designing the Future, Now”—invites us to understand that the future of our cities is not something distant, but rather something that is being designed in the present.
Every architectural decision, from a building to a plaza, has a direct impact on how we will live, move, and interact tomorrow.
Contemporary architecture no longer focuses solely on aesthetics or technique, but on the social, environmental, and emotional impact of spaces.
The slogan focuses on three main areas:
1. Real sustainability
Thinking about recyclable materials, energy efficiency, and circular architecture is no longer an option, it is a necessity. Construction accounts for more than 35% of global CO2 emissions, so designing for the future requires environmental awareness.
2. Innovation and technology
Digitalization is transforming the profession: BIM models, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and 3D printing are redefining the creative and construction process. The future is already being designed with algorithms and data, not just blueprints.
3. Human and accessible spaces
Architecture also has a social commitment. Spaces designed for everyone, with criteria of accessibility, inclusion, and well-being, are an essential part of tomorrow's design.
Barcelona 2026: World Capital of Architecture
At the same time, the city is preparing for a historic moment: in 2026, it will be the World Capital of Architecture, a title awarded by UNESCO and the UIA in recognition of its urban and cultural achievements.
The city will host the UIA 2026 World Congress of Architects (June 28 to July 2), which will bring together thousands of professionals under the slogan “One today, one tomorrow.”
But beyond the congress, the capital status will be a living project:
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Cultural programs in the 10 districts.
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Calls for proposals to transform party walls and urban spaces with artistic and architectural interventions.
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Activities open to the public: tours, workshops, conferences, exhibitions, and debates.
Architecture Week 2025 will be the beginning of this great event, turning Barcelona into an urban laboratory where art, technology, and sustainability intersect.
Designing today the world we want tomorrow
World Architecture Day allows us to reflect on how we want to live and what future we are building.
Barcelona, with its innovative history and international outlook, has the opportunity to demonstrate in 2026 that architecture is not just a profession, but a way of thinking about the world.
Because projecting the future is not imagining it: it is designing it from today.
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