Why Barcelona will become World Capital of Architecture in 2026

Hotspot Barcelona: The Catalan metropolis will become the World Capital of Architecture in 2026 – and is using the opportunity to finally complete its landmark structure, the Sagrada Família. Next year also marks the 100th anniversary of Antoni Gaudí’s death – the ideal timing to be awarded this distinction.

Barcelona changes the way we look at the world. Salvador Dalí was one of the more prominent victims. Antoni Tàpies’ eviscerated mattresses seem almost like neighbours when viewed at the MACBA Museum. It’s certainly not because of the absinthe, which sloshes back and forth in small, bright green pools on the bars in the Barri Xinés district. It’s because of Barcelona itself. Because of its houses, which have eyes and mouths in place of windows and doors. And because of the love of imagination that has always made the Catalan metropolis a place of eternal avant-garde. Picasso, who trained as a painter here between 1895 and 1904, was also inspired by the city’s underbelly. After ten years living the bohemian life, he had learned everything this city could teach him: always look around and expect anything and everything! What was old hat for the jugglers on the Rambla became the basis for Picasso’s artistic breakthrough: After experiencing Barcelona, he painted eyes all over the head – a back, front, top bottom, and, to be on the safe side, lots of open ears as well.

Barcelona, Spain’s creative hotspot

Barcelona is considered the most creative city in Spain, if not the entire Mediterranean coast. Sandwiched between the sea and the mountains, it directs its creative energies inwards. This autumn, Barcelona once again made its mark in a distinctive manner. Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece, Barcelona’s most famous landmark, grew another metre and 38 centimetres. A small step for the Sagrada Família, but a giant leap for Catalan Catholicism. After all, Gaudí’s masterpiece has now replaced Ulm Cathedral as the tallest church building in the world. The Tower of Jesus Christ, the main tower of the Sagrada Familia, is to grow even taller. In 2026, it is set to reach exactly 172 metres, in line with Gaudí’s plans. The world-famous unfinished building will then finally be complete! The white ceramic and crystal glass spire, whose four arms protrude thirteen and a half metres, will then also become Barcelona’s highest point.

Sagrada Família’s perfectly timed finale

The timing for the long-overdue completion of this endless church construction is serendipitous: it comes just in time for the 100th anniversary of the man whose work still shapes Barcelona today. Antoni Gaudí, the anniversary of whose death will be commemorated next June, only witnessed the completion of one of a total of eighteen towers. Next year, events, exhibitions and conferences will be dedicated to him, which will also scientifically examine the lesser-known works by the visionary architect. There are plenty of these in addition to the blockbuster attractions such as Park Güell, Casa Batlló and Casa Milà.

UNESCO World Capital of Architecture

In 2026, Barcelona will become UNESCO’s World Capital of Architecture, succeeding Copenhagen in 2023. From mid-February to mid-December, an ambitious programme with over 1,500 activities will run across ten city districts. Specialist symposia and highlights such as the UIA World Congress planned for the end of June will alternate with events for interested laypeople: international creatives will transform bulkhead into sustainable, comfort-oriented façades. Under the title Open Barri, routes will be created through less-visited neighbourhoods. Immersive installations will allow buildings to be experienced as ​‘living bodies’, complete with tours of innovative wooden architecture. The former headquarters of the Gustavo Gili publishing house offers an optimal overview, where a large city model is being created to make Barcelona’s urban DNA more understandable. The overarching theme of the new World Capital of Architecture – the first city to hold the title for the second time – is: ​‘Becoming. Architectures for a planet in transition’.

City of the eternal avant-garde

Barcelona is predestined to bear this motto. In a city with the constant pulse of the avant-garde, humanity and change are a matter of course – noticeable on park benches, at water fountains, and in cafés. Barcelona is also considered a pioneer in green urban planning: the superblock principle groups together nine blocks of houses, banning cars from main roads, transforming intersections into plazas, removing road surfacing from a quarter of the roads, and shading four-fifths of the area with trees. No resident should live more than 200 metres from the nearest green space. 

The Eixample business district anticipated ideas like this as early as 1859. Walking through the grid-like layout of these avenues today, you witness a cityscape woven like fabric from geometric patterns, cropped corners, park squares, and colourful ornaments of Spanish Modernismo. The fact that Gaudí had a spiritual influence on the Eixample ​‘extension’ district links its 100th anniversary with the awarding of the title of World Capital of Architecture. In front of Casa Milà, it becomes clear why, in Barcelona, a corner can be round and a residential building a sea of stone: the façade ripples in waves, windows bubble like air bubbles, balcony railings sprawl like climbing plants. ​‘This house wears its bones on its skin,’ said Luis Buñuel – something that is completely natural for a laboratory of ideas like Barcelona.

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