Following the first collective discussion launched during the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025, six leading international architecture awards will come together once again at the UIA World Congress of Architects Barcelona 2026 to continue a shared reflection on the evolving role of architectural recognition today.

Titled Beyond Recognition: Two Sessions Exploring the Role of Architectural Awards, the event will take place on Monday 29 June, 15:00–16:20 at CCIB (Stage 11), as part of the Congress programme under the theme Becoming: Architectures for a Planet in Transition.

Organised by a consortium of international architecture awards, Ammodo Architecture Award, Aga Khan Award for Architecture, EUmies Awards, Holcim Foundation Awards, Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize, and The OBEL Foundation, the event builds on the conversations initiated in Venice and continues a collective reflection on how architectural awards can move beyond recognition to shape contemporary discourse, define understandings of quality, and contribute to architecture’s evolving responsibilities.

Across two sessions, critics, architects, and representatives of leading international awards will reflect on the transformation of systems of architectural recognition and their impact on contemporary practice, while exploring how awards, through their independent structures and criteria, can contribute to shaping broader professional and public discourse.