Union Internationale des Architectes (UIA)

The results of the 6th Cycle of the UIA Golden Cubes Awards are here🏆

We are proud to announce the winners of the 2026 Golden Cubes Awards, celebrating outstanding initiatives in architecture education for children and youth around the world.

🥇 5 Award Winners:
• Institution – HUBLAB – Citizen Innovation Lab (Peru)
• School – Views from Here / Vues d’ici (France)
• Written Media – Play as an Urban Revealer: A Comparative Study of Two Cities (Tunisia)
• Audio-Visual Media – Building a World with Animals (Italy)
• Special Award – Perre Children and City Biennial – City Detective (Turkey)

Plus 9 Special Mentions recognising exceptional projects from France, Japan, Romania, Hungary, Italy, Denmark, Romania, Hungary, and Serbia.

👉 Discover all winners, special mentions, and their inspiring projects on the UIA website: https://www.uia-architectes.org/en/award/6th-cycle-of-the-golden-cubes-awards/

The award ceremony will take place at the UIA World Congress of Architects in Barcelona on July 2, 2026

How can daylight shape better architecture?

In this Daylight Talk presented by , James Carpenter shares insights into a series of projects done over fifty years that have explored his unique approach to engaging with the public realm, highlighting the role of daylight in architectural design and education.

📹Watch the full talk here from 27th May: https://www.daylightandarchitecture.com/daylight-talk/ecology-of-light-a-daylight-talk-by-james-carpenter-jcda-studio-james-carpenter/

Tomorrow, 22 May 2026 at 10:00h (Room C), the International Union of Architects (UIA) is hosting a “SDGs in Action” event at the 13th World Urban Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The session — “From Goals to Homes: UIA SDG Tools and Award Cases for Safe, Resilient Housing Action” — will turn global commitments into practical tools, showcasing three UIA instruments that help architects, cities and partners measure and scale SDG impact in housing and neighbourhood development.

A stellar panel will lead the conversation:

🎙️ Rui Leao — Secretary General, UIA
🎙️ Vity Nsalambi — Vice-President, UIA
🎙️ Jose Chong — Programme Management Officer, UN-Habitat
🎙️ Elisabet Cirici Amell — General Director UPA, Government of Catalonia

Organised by the UIA, with co-organizers Generalitat de Catalunya and the Ordem dos Arquitrctos de Angola.

Architecture is not just about buildings — it’s about people, dignity, and the future of our cities. 🌍

Yesterday in Baku, Azerbaijan at the World Urban Forum 🌏

On the sidelines of the 13th Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), the International Union of Architects (UIA), in partnership with UN-Habitat, hosted the Award Ceremony of the 3rd Cycle of the UIA 2030 Award — a biennial prize that celebrates the power of architecture to transform lives and cities.

Winner teams from around the world gathered to receive their recognition for outstanding built projects that advance the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — work that tackles affordable housing, climate resilience, public space, water management, and inclusive urban planning.

The UIA 2030 Award isn’t just a prize. It’s a reminder that architecture, at its best, is a profound act of service to humanity🏛️

Congratulations to all the winners, Highly Commended, and Commended teams. Your work inspires us all.

Join us tomorrow, May 21 at 14:00 in Multipurpose Room 06 for a powerful networking session: “From Risk to Resilience – Technical Assistance Driving Climate Solutions for Cities” 🏙️

This session will explore how technical assistance and support mechanisms can help cities highly exposed to climate risks implement real, scalable solutions — even when local technical and financial capacity is limited.

The Habitat Professionals Forum (HPF) is a voluntary affiliation of international and regional associations of Human Settlements Professionals involved in sustainable urban development.

The UIA is represented at the HPF by Natalie Mossin and Aysen Ciravoglu as alternate, and is fully commited to HPF aims to foster cooperation and partnership between the Human Settlements Professionals and UN-Habitat through dialogue and partnerships, and by providing leading-edge information and expertise that contribute to the implementation of the Habitat Agenda and sustainable urban development.

The debate will draw on strategies from the Plan to Accelerate Solutions for Resilient Urban Infrastructure, a key outcome of the COP30 Action Agenda 🟢

Join us tomorrow, May 21 at 14:00 (Baku time) at the Multipurpose Room 06 in for a networking session exploring how technical assistance can help climate-vulnerable cities build resilience and unlock investment.

Featuring panelists from the Ministry of Cities Brazil, UIA, and the Government of Cabo Verde.

Organized by Ministério das Cidades & UNEP.