The International Union of Architects ( French: ''Union internationale des Architectes''; UIA) is the only international

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

that represents the world's

architects An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, now estimated to number some 3.2 million in all.

About

The UIA was founded on 28 June 1948 in Lausanne, Switzerland, following the merger of the ''Comité permanent international des Architectes'' and the ''Réunion International des Architectes.'' Its General Secretariat is located in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. The organisation is recognised as the only global architecture organisation by most

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

agencies, including

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

UNCHS The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development. It was established in 1977 as an outcome of the first United Nations Conference on Human Settleme ...

, ESOSOC,

UNIDO The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in ...

and the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

as well as the WTO. The current (2021-2023) president is José Luis Cortés from Mexico. Through its Member Sections, the UIA is represented in over 100 countries and territories, geographically grouped into five regions: * Region I: Western Europe * Region II: Eastern Europe * Region III: The Americas * Region IV: Asia and Oceania * Region V: Africa

Governing bodies

The governing bodies of the UIA are: * The Assembly: the supreme body of the UIA composed of delegates from UIA Member Sections in addition to Council members. * Council: between meetings of the Assembly, the Council is responsible for managing and directing the affairs of the Union. It is composed of 4 elected members from each of the UIA's five regions in addition to the Bureau members. * Bureau: composed of the President, the Immediate Past President, the Secretary General, the Treasurer, and a Vice-President from each Region

Presidents

* Sir

Patrick Abercrombie Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie (; 6 June 1879 – 23 March 1957) was an English regional and town planner. Abercrombie was an academic during most of his career, and prepared one city plan and several regional studies prior to the Second Worl ...

, 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 Roderick Peter Hackney (born 3 March 1942), better known as Rod Hackney, is a British architect and past president of the Royal Institute of British Architects and International Union of Architects. Hackney is considered the pioneer of "Communit ...

, United Kingdom (1987-1990) *

Olufemi Majekodunmi Olufemi Adetokunbo Majekodunmi (born 1 May 1940) is a British-Nigerian architect. Early life and education Olufemi was born on 1 May 1940 in London, England to Moses Majekodunmi and Tomi Agbebi. However, he grew up in Nigeria and attended St G ...

, Nigeria (1990-1993) * Jaime Duro, Spain (1993-1996) * Sara Topelson, Mexico (1996-1999) * Vassilis Sgoutas, Greece (1999-2002) *

Jaime Lerner Jaime Lerner (17 December 1937 – 27 May 2021) was a Brazilian politician. He was the governor of the state of Paraná, in southern Brazil. He is renowned as an architect and urban planner, having been mayor of Curitiba, capital of Paraná, th ...

, 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)

Congresses

The UIA World Congresses are key events for professional and cultural exchange among all the world's architects, bringing together thousands of participants from around the globe. Each event focuses on a different architecture-related theme, developed by eminent personalities from the international architectural, planning and construction fields. Debates, exhibitions, tours and networking events make the UIA Congresses the perfect meeting place for experts, colleagues, friends, and students of architecture. UIA Congresses are organised by a host UIA Member Section. Congress bids are submitted to the UIA General Assembly and selected by vote six years in advance of the event. List of congresses from 1948 to 2026

UIA Gold Medal

Since 1984 the organisation also awards the UIA Gold Medal to ''honour an architect (or group of architects) having distinguished themselves through their work and professional practice by the quality of services rendered to man and society.'' Past recipients of the award were:

UIA Triennial Prizes

The UIA also awards the following five prizes: * The Patrick Abercrombie Prize for Urban Planning and Design * The Auguste Perret Prize for Technology in Architecture * The Jean Tschumi Prize for Architectural Writing & Critique * The Robert Matthew Prize for Sustainable & Humane Environments * The Vassilis Sgoutas Prize for Implemented Architecture Serving the Impoverished

International design competitions

The UIA manages international architecture competitions. * Georges Pompidou Centre,

*Indira Gandhi Centre,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

* Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris *National Museum of Seoul * Prado National Museum,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

(rehabilitation and extension) *

Opera House An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically fo ...

, Sydney

References

External links

UIA official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:International Union Of Architects Architecture groups International organizations based in France Architectural competitions Organizations based in Paris International professional associations Organizations established in 1948