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ARCASIA Exhibition Debuts at 2026 UIA World Congress in Barcelona
Release time：2026-07-23
Barcelona, June 29, 2026 – The ARCASIA Exhibition officially opened at Disseny Hub Barcelona as a core highlight of the 2026 UIA World Congress of Architects, themed Becoming. Architectures for a Planet in Transition. Fully curated and delivered by a team from the College of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP), Tongji University, the landmark showcase brings Asia’s diverse architectural heritage and cutting-edge practice to over 10,000 global architects from 130 nations.
Led by Associate Professor Zhou Minghao, ARCASIA Secretary-General, the curatorial panel includes Assistant Professor Wang Yanze, Chief Editor of Architecture Asia, Gao Changjun from Tongji Architectural Design Institute, and Postdoctoral Researcher Zhang Yiwen. Professor Wu Jiang, ARCASIA President and Tongji professor, delivered the opening address, reaffirming ARCASIA’s commitment to cross-continental collaboration for sustainable built environments amid global ecological challenges.
The opening ceremony, hosted by Zhou Minghao, featured keynote remarks from former UIA President Louise Cox and ex-UIA Secretary-General Tan Pei Ing, who praised ARCASIA’s rising global influence. Three ARCASIA regional vice-presidents then unpacked South, Southeast and Northeast Asian architectural identities, spanning indigenous vernacular wisdom, tropical climate-responsive design and Sino-Japanese-Korean urban innovation.
The event also previewed the 23rd ARCASIA Forum to be held in Jaipur this September, themed Bringing Back——Vernacular Wisdom, with Riken Yamamoto and CAUP Dean Yuan Feng lined up as headline speakers. Wang Yanze also updated attendees on the transformation of Architecture Asia into an integrated cross-border academic platform under Tongji’s operation.
Closing with a collective ribbon-cutting, the five-day exhibition marks a milestone: led by Tongji’s academic strength, ARCASIA amplifies a cohesive, thoughtful Asian architectural voice on the world’s most prestigious architectural stage, laying groundwork for sustained intercontinental exchange in the years ahead.
