Becoming

Becoming: Architectures for a Planet in Transition is published in conjunction with the 2026 UIA World Congress of Architects in Barcelona. The book explores spatial practices that foster processes of appropriation and transformation of the inhabited environment―both human and nonhuman, individual and collective―and investigates the potential use of time as a design tool.

Through a series of interviews with critical antagonists, research-by-design projects, workshops, and essays, the volume offers a comprehensive survey of the 2026 UIA Congress’s main topic of “becoming” as a metaphor for change: that architecture must become more than human, circular, embodied, interdependent, hyper-conscious, and attuned. It constitutes a tangible and lasting reminder of the environmental challenges that our planet is facing.

The UIA World Congress of Architects brings together globally renowned architects, researchers, and other influential voices from multiple fields to explore material, ecological, political, and poetic themes through exhibitions, workshops, and debates, and to encourage architectural dialogue and the sharing of perspectives between disciplines.