Barcelona will turn itself into a city-wide architecture festival in 2026, running from 12 February to 13 December, with more than 1,500 public activities and around 200 projects spread across all ten districts. The yearlong programme is designed to bring the city’s built environment closer to residents and visitors alike, with events in museums, libraries, markets, civic centres and out on the streets.
At the heart of the calendar sits the UIA World Congress of Architects, taking place in Barcelona from 28 June to 2 July 2026 and expected to draw thousands of professionals from around the globe. The congress will be staged at key venues including Disseny Hub Barcelona and Les Tres Xemeneies in Sant Adrià.
The citywide programme will animate 77 spaces and feature some 54 exhibitions, each running for three to six months. Highlights include shows exploring Picasso’s relationship with architecture and tributes to Catalan figures such as Josep Maria Jujol and Nicolau Maria Rubió i Tudurí. Two anchor exhibitions at the former Editorial Gustavo Gili building will map the city’s near-future urban projects, including ‘Barcelona in transformation. 2035’, while ‘Barcelona: intense, diverse and complex’ examines the social fabric that underpins the metropolis.
Neighbourhood-level programming is central. ‘Open Barri’ will rotate through Nou Barris, Sants-Montjuïc and Sarrià–Sant Gervasi, culminating in the annual 48h Open House Barcelona weekend, when hundreds of buildings open their doors free of charge. Families can look for ‘The city we want’, a hands-on workshop for children aged eight to twelve.
There is a technical strand too. The College of Technical Architecture of Barcelona (CATEB) will present ‘Anatomy of a Building’, taking visitors through a real structure ‘stripped bare’ to reveal moisture problems, harmful materials and accessibility gaps that often go unseen.
The organisers promise tangible legacy. A new 11-by-9-metre model of Barcelona will go on display at the Gustavo Gili site, while ten blank party walls – one in each district, will be reimagined to improve both the streetscape and building performance. The city ran an international competition to select the interventions, with works scheduled around the year.
‘We want this capital year to be a great engine of public understanding of the positive impact that urban transformation can have on daily life,’ said mayor Jaume Collboni at the programme launch. The initiative has a budget of about €11 million, jointly funded by the city council, the Catalan government and Spain’s national government, with contributions from 170 participating organisations.
How to plan your year
• Official programme hub (events released on a rolling basis):
• UIA World Congress of Architects Barcelona 2026 (28 June–2 July)
• City highlights and family activities overview
• 48h Open House Barcelona festival
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