International Union of Architects

International Union of Architects (UIA)

Abbreviation	UIA
Formation	1948
Type	INGO
Location	Paris, France
Region served	Worldwide
Official language	English, French
President	Esa Mohamed
Website	UIA-Architectes.org

The International Union of Architects (Union internationale des Architectes, or UIA) is an international non-governmental organization that represents over a million architects in 124 countries.^[1] The UIA was founded in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1948. The General Secretariat is located in Paris. It is recognized by most United Nations agencies as the only association in its field, including UNESCO, UNCHS, ESOSOC, UNIDO, and the World Health Organization, as well as the WTO. The current (2014 - 2017) president is Esa Mohamed from Malaysia.

Congresses

The UIA helds a triennal World Congress of Architecture each organised at a time by a member section in its respective country. In connection with the congress the general assembly of the organisation is held in which the honorary office bearers, among them the Council members, are elected for a three-year term.^[1] The next congress will be held in Seoul 2017 on the topic: "Soul of City". Former congresses were:

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

Nr.	Year	Location	Theme
1st	1948	Lausanne	Architecture Faced with its New Tasks
2nd	1951	Rabat	How Architecture is Dealing with its New Tasks
3rd	1953	Lisbon	Architecture at the Crossroads
4th	1955	The Hague	Architecture and the Evolutions of Building
5th	1958	Moscow	Construction and Reconstruction
6th	1961	London	New Techniques and New Materials
7th	1963	Havana	Architecture in Underdeveloped Countries
8th	1965	Paris	The Training of Architects
9th	1967	Prague	Architecture and the Human Milieu
10th	1969	Buenos Aires	Architecture as a Social Factor
11th	1972	Varna	Architecture and Leisure
12th	1975	Madrid	Creativity and Technology
13th	1978	Mexico City	Architecture and National Development
14th	1981	Warsaw	Architecture, Man, Environment
15th	1985	Cairo	Present and Future Missions of the Architect
16th	1987	Brighton	Shelter and Cities - Building Tomorrow's World
17th	1990	Montreal	Cultures and Technologies
18th	1993	Chicago	Architecture at the Crossroads - Designing for a Sustainable Future
19th	1996	Barcelona	Present and Futures. Architecture in Cities
20th	1999	Beijing	Architecture of the 21st Century
21st	2002	Berlin	Resource Architecture
22nd	2005	Istanbul	Grand Bazaar of Architectures
23rd	2008	Turin	Transmitting Architecture
24th	2011	Tokyo	DESIGN 2050 Beyond disasters, through Solidarity, towards Sustainability
25th	2014	Durban	Architecture otherwhere

Prizes

Since 1961 the UIA awards four prizes triennially:^[2]

• Auguste Perret Prize, for technology applied to architecture
• Sir Patrick Abercrombie Prize, for town-planning or territorial development
• Jean Tschumi Prize, for architectural criticism or architectural education
• Sir Robert Matthew Prize, for improvement in the quality of human settlements.

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.^[2] Past recipients of the award were:

International competitions

The organization also manages international competitions for some of the most important spaces of our age, as well as attempts to improve human habitats through architecture and technology. The UIA managed international competitions resulting in the construction of:

• Georges Pompidou Centre, Paris
• Indira Gandhi Centre, New Delhi
• Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris
• National Museum of Seoul
• Prado National Museum, Madrid (rehabilitation and extension)
• Opera House, Sydney

References

External links

• UIA official website