During the UIA World Congress of Architects in Barcelona, conversations about the future of housing went beyond design aspects, addressing crucial themes such as governance, long-term management, and ownership. Cristina Gamboa, co-founder of Lacol, a cooperative based in Barcelona, participated in these debates, presenting a practice that integrates architecture, housing activism, construction management, and environmental research under a cooperative format.
In an interview with ArchDaily, Gamboa detailed how the cooperative approach transforms the role of the architect. She emphasized that participation in decisions goes far beyond a simple consultation. Projects like La Borda and La Morada serve as central examples for debating concepts of care and collective life.
For Gamboa, Lacol's organizational structure is intrinsically linked to its architectural production. As a worker cooperative, the firm was deliberately conceived to operate based on collective decision-making, moving away from conventional hierarchies. Currently, its activities range from supporting housing cooperatives and designing buildings to managing construction and seeking strategies for ecological change, reinforcing the idea that architecture operates on various scales, from public policies to daily use.
This expanded function directly influences how Lacol responds to housing needs in Barcelona. Faced with a shortage of social housing and a market dominated by private ownership, Gamboa argues that cooperative housing offers an alternative path, removing properties from the cycle of speculation through shared ownership. Beyond focusing on financial viability, she describes this model as a means of strengthening neighborhood stability and maintaining the social connections essential to urban life.
La Borda has become one of the most notable examples of cooperative housing in Europe. Observing this international projection, Gamboa ponders the impact of an experimental project beginning to influence other regions. While acknowledging that each locality has unique political, economic, and social requirements, she believes that a major contribution of La Borda was demonstrating the practicality of alternative housing models and, equally important, documenting this process so that other groups can adapt it.
Collaboration extends to the design process itself. Working with self-managed communities means accepting that future residents bring knowledge and experiences that architects alone could not anticipate. According to her, participation is not limited to public hearings but rather creating the conditions for communities to understand, shape, and manage their own projects long-term after construction is complete. Such concepts gained prominence in the development of La Morada, a cooperative venture conceived by a feminist and queer community. This project prioritized care as an architectural principle, influencing everything from decision-making and accessibility to interaction with the surrounding environment. Gamboa stresses that different communities require distinct processes, and architecture must be capable of meeting these specificities.
Returning to the topic of the Congress, Gamboa frames cooperative housing as part of a broader ecosocial transition, not as an isolated architectural category. Parallel to current research on sufficiency, Lacol investigates how architecture can respond to planetary limits while enabling new forms of collective coexistence. In this sense, buildings are viewed not just as physical structures but as platforms for the joint development of environmental responsibility and community life.
During the World Congress of Architects of the UIA 2026, held in Barcelona, the central theme was 'Becoming. Architectures for a Transitioning Planet'. This theme positioned architecture as an area of practice directly linked to environmental, social, and political changes, rather than something peripheral to them.
Among the participants of this congress was architect Andrés Jaque, founder of the Office for Political Innovation and dean of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) at Columbia University. ArchDaily interviewed Jaque to discuss architecture's capacity to propose solutions, the importance of experimentation in academic training, and the need to view transition as a continuous state, not a final point.
For Jaque, the current relevance of architecture stems from the fact that many of the structures defining contemporary society are being questioned. Instead of seeing the current scenario as a moment of collapse, he interprets it as an opportunity where architects can help plan new ways of organizing community life. Thus, issues such as ecology, social equity, and alternative models of coexistence are not secondary topics, but rather an integral part of the discipline's operational foundations.
This perspective directly influences the definition of design presented by Jaque. He argues that design transcends the mere creation of forms; it is a process that demands investigation, reasoning, and deep engagement with broader issues. Architecture, in this sense, functions as a mode of action through design, where choices made about buildings and spaces are simultaneously decisions about how collective life will be structured.
When addressing the role of architectural projects, Jaque exemplified how buildings can highlight different possibilities. Referring to the Reggio School project, he clarified that this initiative challenged the notion that schools should protect children from the complexity of the world. On the contrary, the project focused on education as a process that occurs through exposure to variety, constant dynamics, and still developing conditions.
The development of this project also illustrated Jaque's view of architecture as a collaborative effort. He detailed the participation of teachers, families, tutors, and students, while also taking into account the environmental history of the area, including problems such as pollution and loss of biodiversity in the surroundings. In this context, he believes that the architect's role is not just to generate ideas in isolation, but to create the necessary circumstances for diverse views to contribute to the project's conception.
When asked which topics the Congress should prioritize, Jaque indicated concerns already present in modern life. Instead of suggesting a single missing issue, he mentioned themes such as economic accessibility, justice, alternatives to violence and militarism, and lifestyles based on diversity. For him, these debates already permeate daily conversations, activism, and public discourse, giving them great relevance for architects.
With the conclusion of the UIA 2026 World Congress of Architects in Barcelona, a central idea emerged from the debates, lectures, and exhibitions: the future of architecture must focus less on final solutions and more on the ability to accept change and jointly question established models.
Under the theme 'Becoming. Architectures for a Transitioning Planet,' the Congress positioned architecture as an area of continuous development, driven by dialogue across various fields, research, and cooperation. Issues such as public health, resource consumption, climate adaptation, and housing emerged as interconnected problems, impossible to be solved by a single institution or profession.
Discussion forums prioritized existing buildings as a common asset, highlighting renovation, adaptation, and reuse practices as pathways to reformulate architecture's contribution in the face of social and environmental transformations.
Mariona Benedito and Carmen Torres, members of the UIA 2026 Barcelona curation team, observed that these conversations served as a platform for presenting Re:Living, a comprehensive renewal framework introduced by the VELUX Group during the event. This model, based on the findings of the Green Paper A Housing We Need for the Future We Want, proposes that urban renewal transcends isolated projects, adopting a more scalable and structured methodology focused on sustainability, economic accessibility, and health.
The vision of viewing current structures as future housing is reinforced by European data. The Green Paper points out that approximately 85% of buildings used in Europe in 2050 were already constructed, indicating vast untapped potential in the existing built stock.
Developed in collaboration with ARTELIA, BPIE, RISE, and No Objectives, the Green Paper examines how the European built heritage can help address challenges related to energy, climate, health, and housing. Research on the European Union's housing stock suggests that adapting, reusing, and better utilizing these constructions could enable between 50 and 107 million new housing units, reducing the need for new land, materials, and carbon emissions.
This document, intended for policymakers, researchers, the construction sector, and civil society, aims to stimulate debate on the feasibility of large-scale renovations across the European continent. Complementarily, Re:Living, created with DGJ Architektur and Transsolar, details this research by suggesting a holistic four-phase structure: Re:Think, Re:Scope, Re:Design, and Re:Cover.
The emphasis on open dialogue characterized the congress. Discussions converged on the notion that architecture is built through exchange, not absolute truths. Many sessions encouraged the exchange of views among different disciplines on urban transformation, climate, and housing—topics that demand collective answers.
Parallel events, such as Architects, not Architecture (AnA), organized by VELUX in Barcelona, featured speakers like Winy Maas from MVRDV, Xu Tiantian from DnA_Design and Architecture, and Arno Brandlhuber from bplus.xyz (b+) and HouseEurope!. These focused less on finished works and more on the ideas and influences underpinning professional practice, always returning to opportunities present in old buildings, with a focus on minimal intervention and reuse.
The new generation of architects participated in the VELUX Light of Tomorrow student competition, in partnership with the International Union of Architects (UIA). Eight finalist teams presented proposals on the use of natural light before an international jury. Out of 539 projects, the winner, Sun the Quilt, created by students from the Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, exemplifies how daily urban conditions can generate new architectural solutions through the careful integration of ventilation, natural light, and domestic routines, as highlighted by Niall McLaughlin.
The congress activities demonstrated that the most urgent issues in architecture cannot be resolved in isolation. Debates on built heritage, circularity, and resource use pointed toward continuous processes of collaboration that extend beyond the event period. In addition to the official agenda, the VELUX x Barcelona Exchange & Experience provided a space for global interaction among students, researchers, industry leaders, and architects, making Barcelona a living place to test ideas for transformation and healthier buildings.
