kids encyclopedia robot

International Union of Architects facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The International Union of Architects (UIA) is a special group that brings together architects from all over the world. It's the only international organization that represents architects, and there are about 3.2 million of them globally!

What is the UIA?

The UIA was started on June 28, 1948, in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was formed when two older architect groups joined together. Its main office is in Paris, France. Many important groups like UNESCO and the World Health Organization (WHO) recognize the UIA as the main global organization for architecture.

The UIA has members in more than 100 countries. These countries are grouped into five main regions:

  • Region I: Western Europe
  • Region II: Eastern Europe
  • Region III: The Americas (North and South America)
  • Region IV: Asia and Oceania (like Australia and islands)
  • Region V: Africa

The president of the UIA from 2023 to 2026 is Regina Gonthier from Switzerland.

How the UIA is Run

The UIA has different groups that help run it:

  • The Assembly: This is the highest group. It's made up of people from all the UIA member countries and other leaders.
  • The Council: This group manages the UIA's work between the big Assembly meetings. It has 4 members from each of the five regions, plus other leaders.
  • The Bureau: This is a smaller group that includes the President, the past President, the Secretary General, the Treasurer, and a Vice-President from each region.

Past Presidents

Many architects have led the UIA over the years. Here are some of them:

  • 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)

UIA World Congresses

The UIA World Congresses are big events where architects from all over the world meet. Thousands of people come together to share ideas and learn. Each Congress focuses on a different topic about architecture. Experts in building and design lead discussions, and there are exhibitions and tours. It's a great place for architects, students, and friends to connect.

A UIA member country hosts each Congress. Countries offer to host, and the UIA General Assembly votes to choose the host city six years before the event.

USSR stamp and souvenir sheet from 1958 for the 5th World Congress of Architecture
USSR stamp of 1958 dedicated to the 5th World Congress of Architecture
USSR souvenir sheet of 1958 dedicated to the 5th World Congress of Architecture

Here is a list of the UIA Congresses:

Nr. Year Location Theme
1st 1948 Switzerland Lausanne Architecture Faced with its New Tasks
2nd 1951 Morocco Rabat How Architecture is Dealing with its New Tasks
3rd 1953 Portugal Lisbon Architecture at the Crossroads
4th 1955 Netherlands The Hague Architecture and the Evolutions of Building
5th 1958 Soviet Union Moscow Construction and Reconstruction
6th 1961 United Kingdom London New Techniques and New Materials
7th 1963 Cuba Havana Architecture in Underdeveloped Countries
8th 1965 France Paris The Training of Architects
9th 1967 Czechoslovakia Prague Architecture and the Human Milieu
10th 1969 Argentina Buenos Aires Architecture as a Social Factor
11th 1972 Bulgaria Varna Architecture and Leisure
12th 1975 Spain Madrid Creativity and Technology
13th 1978 Mexico Mexico City Architecture and National Development
14th 1981 Poland Warsaw Architecture, Man, Environment
15th 1985 Egypt Cairo Present and Future Missions of the Architect
16th 1987 United Kingdom Brighton Shelter and Cities - Building Tomorrow's World
17th 1990 Canada Montreal Cultures and Technologies
18th 1993 United States Chicago Architecture at the Crossroads - Designing for a Sustainable Future
19th 1996 Spain Barcelona Present and Futures. Architecture in Cities
20th 1999 China Beijing Architecture of the 21st Century
21st 2002 Germany Berlin Resource Architecture
22nd 2005 Turkey Istanbul Grand Bazaar of Architectures
23rd 2008 Italy Turin Transmitting Architecture
24th 2011 Japan Tokyo DESIGN 2050 Beyond disasters, through Solidarity, towards Sustainability
25th 2014 South Africa Durban Architecture otherwhere
26th 2017 South Korea Seoul Soul of City
27th 2020 Brazil Rio de Janeiro All Worlds. One World. Architecture in the 21st Century.
28th 2023 Denmark Copenhagen Design for a Sustainable Future
29th 2026 Spain Barcelona One day, One tomorrow

World Capital of Architecture

The UIA and UNESCO work together to name a "World Capital of Architecture." This special title is given every three years, at the same time as the UIA World Congress. The city chosen hosts the World Congress and has many events about architecture throughout that year.

Cities apply for this title. The UIA World Congress then picks the next World Capital from a list of applicants. The Secretary General of UNESCO makes the official announcement. Rio de Janeiro was the World Capital of Architecture in 2020, Copenhagen in 2023, and Barcelona will be in 2026.

UIA Gold Medal

Since 1984, the UIA has given out the UIA Gold Medal. This award honors an architect (or a group of architects) who has done amazing work and helped people and society through their designs.

Here are some of the architects who have received this award:

Year Architect Country
1984 Hassan Fathy Egypt
1987 Reima Pietilä Finland
1990 Charles Correa India
1993 Fumihiko Maki Japan
1996 Rafael Moneo Spain
1999 Ricardo Legorreta Vilchis Mexico
2002 Renzo Piano Italy
2005 Tadao Ando Japan
2008 Teodoro Gonzalez de Leon Mexico
2011 Álvaro Siza Vieira Portugal
2014 Ieoh Ming Pei USA
2017 Toyo Ito Japan
2021 Paulo Mendes da Rocha Brazil

UIA Triennial Prizes

The UIA also gives out five other important prizes every three years:

  • The Patrick Abercrombie Prize: This is for great work in city planning and design.
  • The Auguste Perret Prize: This award is for using new technology in architecture.
  • The Jean Tschumi Prize: This prize is for excellent writing and reviews about architecture.
  • The Robert Matthew Prize: This is for creating places that are good for people and the environment.
  • The Vassilis Sgoutas Prize: This award is for architecture that helps people who are poor.

International Design Competitions

The UIA helps organize big international competitions for architects to design important buildings. Some famous projects that came from these competitions include:

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Unión Internacional de Arquitectos para niños

kids search engine
International Union of Architects Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.