Barcelona's Nou Barris district will be the central location for the World Capital of Architecture throughout May, coinciding with its local festival from 13 to 17 May. The former Santa Creu Mental Institute, which houses the district's headquarters and the Nou Barris Library, will serve as the main venue for events until December.
Nou Barris, shaped by worker migration and unplanned growth in the 1950s and 1960s, comprises thirteen neighbourhoods known for their active community groups. These groups have historically campaigned for better services and infrastructure. Since the 1980s, democratic city councils have worked to improve the architectural quality of urban spaces, including major thoroughfares like Passeig Valldaura and Via Júlia, and green areas such as Parc de la Guineueta and Parc Central. These efforts have helped connect different neighbourhoods and integrate historic buildings like the former Santa Creu Mental Institute and the Mirador de la Torre del Baró, which offers wide views of Barcelona and its surroundings.
Architecture and Urban Planning in Nou Barris
In May, the former Santa Creu Mental Institute will host several architecture and urban planning events. These include a debate about the travelling exhibition "From Party Walls to Façades: A Legacy for the City". This public meeting will explain Barcelona's party wall remodelling plan and available aid. The exhibition itself will also be on display, showing ten selected projects that will turn city party walls into green façades. In Nou Barris, the chosen party wall project is located in Placeta de Charlot, which will become a permanent legacy of the World Capital in the district.
The programme extends across Nou Barris with various routes. These include "A Journey Through the Sound Architecture of Nou Barris: A Blind Sound Walk" on 14 May, a Jane's Walk on 16 May, and a tour of Nou Barris Central Park on 18 May.
The district will also engage residents through workshops. "Feminist Routes and Cartographies Between the Urban and Urban Planning" on 12 and 14 May offers a critical, feminist look at the urban environment. The children's workshop "Let's Improve the Neighbourhood in Nou Barris" on 17 May aims to encourage participation in urban improvement. For older people, "Future Trends: Architecture, Urban Planning, and Landscaping for the Elderly" on 21 May will explore architectural and urban planning challenges related to care, well-being, and quality of life in old age. Additionally, the conference-workshop "Bringing Cases of Social Architecture and Design to Citizens" on 21 May invites reflection on public spaces for urban art.
Rounding out the programme are a talk on emblematic buildings, "The Architectural Heritage of the Nou Barris District" on 9 May, and two exhibitions. "The Transformation of Northern Barcelona" (19 February to 30 September) illustrates the area's change from countryside to city in under fifty years. "Architecture of Water" (9 April to 30 June) at the Casa de l'Aigua de Trinitat Nova features works by international artist Montse Clausells, offering a sensory experience around water within the context of industrial Modernist architecture.
Barcelona's Future and Wider Exhibitions
Barcelona's Casa de l'Arquitectura will open the exhibition "Barcelona 2035: A City to Live In" on 7 May. This exhibition presents major transformations Barcelona is undertaking with a 2035 outlook, coinciding with the World Capital of Architecture. Maps, models, and images guide visitors through ongoing changes and explain their impact on quality of life. The exhibition shows how each intervention is part of a larger city project and how its effects are felt in specific neighbourhoods and daily life. The goal is a more liveable, prosperous, cohesive, and better-connected Barcelona.
Throughout May, the World Capital of Architecture will offer many activities connecting architecture, territory, and community across Barcelona's ten districts and other Catalan municipalities. Beyond "Barcelona 2035: A City to Live In", other notable exhibitions include "The Construction of the Metropolis" (14 May to 6 September at the Maritime Museum of Barcelona), which shows metropolitan growth and the use of planning to address urban challenges, marking fifty years of the Metropolitan General Plan.
Another key exhibition is "Common Sense and Folly: News of Catalan Architecture" (22 May to 6 September at Disseny Hub Barcelona). This show presents recent Catalan architecture, contrasting works and exploring the 'seny-rauxa' (common sense and folly) duality with nearly four hundred pieces. "Barcelona: City and Theatre" (28 May to 30 August at El Born: Centre de Cultura i Memòria) connects the city, architecture, stage space, and society.
Awards, Debates, and Regional Tours
Debates and conferences include the "EUmies Awards Days" on 11 and 12 May at Palau Victòria Eugènia. These days feature the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Awards 2026 ceremony, along with conversations and presentations involving those connected to the awards and previous winners. "Out&About" visits to nominated works in Barcelona and its surroundings will also take place. The Palau Victòria Eugènia will also host the "EUmies Awards 2026" exhibition, displaying selected, finalist, and winning projects, and "What is this?", an exhibition of the Mies van der Rohe Foundation's collection.
Routes and visits are also planned, such as a tour of House A on 22 May, part of the Barcelona Open Wood series of guided tours to buildings in Barcelona where wood is a main feature. Outside the city, tours include "Contemporary Heritage: Knowing, Valuing, Preserving" at the Hifrensa Village in Tarragona on 10 May and in Reus on 24 May, and a guided visit to the Belloch School in La Roca del Vallès on 19 May.
Barcelona 2026, World Capital of Architecture, is a large-scale cultural event driven by UNESCO and the International Union of Architects (UIA). It is organised by Barcelona City Council with support from the Government of Catalonia and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda.
