XXIII UIA World Congress of Architecture 2008

Contemporary architecture must cope with a number of problems of the new century, such as the depletion of natural resources, sustainable development, the extremely rapid process of urbanization, integration, coexistence of different cultures, and security. At the same time, architects must communicate with other involved professions and the public with a single common goal: to create a quality living environment. These issues were discussed at the 23rd World Architectural Congress of the International Union of Architects (UIA).

UIA congresses are held every three years in a significant world metropolis. After Barcelona (1996), Beijing (1999), Berlin (2002), and Istanbul (2005), the congress visited Italy for the first time, gathering more than 10,040 participants from among architects, students, politicians, and journalists in Turin at the turn of June and July this year.

The International Union of Architects (UIA) was established on June 28, 1948, in Lausanne as an organization uniting national architectural organizations and architects from around the world, regardless of their nationality, race, religion, or architectural style. The UIA is a non-governmental organization. Its purpose and goal are to strengthen the relationships between architects, to foster mutual understanding, to create a platform for sharing and confronting individual opinions, to deepen knowledge, and to contribute to the development of society and the creation of a better living environment through diverse perspectives. The UIA has a firmly hierarchical structure and currently encompasses national organizations from 116 countries representing more than 1.3 million architects. Since 1948, the UIA has organized international congresses every three years to discuss serious current issues and problems. This year's congress in Turin is the twenty-third. The congress usually lasts five days, with the main program taking place over three days. During this period, a prominent world architect is awarded the UIA Gold Medal; the most recent laureates are Renzo Piano (2002), Tadao Ando (2005), and Teodoro Gonzales de Léon (2008). The congress is followed by a session of the UIA General Assembly, during which delegates elect new representatives for the next term and choose the location of the congress six years hence. Czechoslovakia was among the 22 founding states of the UIA in 1948. The UIA congress took place in Prague in 1967. Currently, the Czech Chamber of Architects is among the member organizations of the UIA. www.uia-architectes.org

The main venue of the congress was the former Fiat Lingotto car factory. This 500 m long factory building was constructed between 1916-1923 by the young architect Mattè Trucca. It is particularly noted in architectural history for its rooftop test track, which also caught the attention of Le Corbusier. The factory served its purpose until 1982. It was then converted into a congress and business center with a luxury hotel designed by Renzo Piano.
Each congress addresses a current theme closely related to architecture. This year it was "Transmitting architecture," meaning the transfer or mediation of architecture, in other words, communicating architecture. It was about a different perspective on architecture, which should primarily be understood, especially in the eyes of the lay public, not as a static and technical science interesting to a few individuals, but as a discipline dealing with all possible issues of today's society. Architecture must gain the ability to communicate its own meaning not only through the results of architects' work.
The program of the congress was very packed, with more than ten lectures, discussions, or other events occurring at every moment. The most attended events were held in the nearby Palavela sports hall. Individual blocks usually did not follow one another, and often lectures and discussions on similar topics overlapped. A person interested in a specific issue often had to decide where to go. Additionally, the times for individual blocks stated in the program soon proved to be merely indicative. Nonetheless, each visitor found plenty of interesting topics in the very broad offer.

The preparation of the congress itself under the leadership of Riccardo Bedrone was not exactly smooth. It involved two organizations - ICAR Turin 2008, directly under the UIA, and the National Council of Architects, managing the course of the congress itself, and the Turin Foundation of Architects organizing accompanying events. Tensions arose between them during the preparations that culminated in problems with assembling the overall program. This was reflected in deficiencies in promoting the congress, which particularly affected the authors of the winning proposal in a competition for architects under 35, whose design for an information pavilion on Piazza Castello was not realized.
To make matters worse, a storm broke over the royal palace of Venaria Reale on Sunday, June 29, ruining the festive opening of the congress and the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the UIA. Fortunately, the rest of the congress proceeded in a calmer spirit.

Architecture as Culture
Each of the three main congress days had its own sub-theme. On Monday, June 30, speakers and discussants addressed architecture as a bearer of culture and traditions and the architects' responsibility for mediating culture across generations and caring for cultural heritage.
The themes of individual events corresponded to this. Speakers focused on, for example, the language of contemporary architecture, the relationship between individual creativity and architecture, or so-called young architecture, which was not about a discussion of young architects, but about an innovative approach to design, a willingness to experiment, and seek new paths.
Very specifically related to the sub-theme of the first day were discussions about architecture and context. Speakers repeatedly addressed the issue of constructing high-rise buildings in historical city centers. Maurice Culot illustrated this with several examples from Paris. He was later followed by Liliana Pittarello, who presented current issues facing Turin, where there is now lively discussion about the planned construction of several towers that would significantly disrupt the city’s skyline and surpass its historic landmarks. Pittarello emphasized the necessity of building with regard to the cultural context, which does not mean mindless copying but empathy and reinterpretation. The approach to this topic was different for the other two speakers. Professor Vladimír Šlapeta presented modern architecture in Brno in the context of architectural activities around the world. Architect Nina Maritz focused on the natural context and introduced a very interesting low-budget project, the Twyfelfontein Rock Art Museum in Namibia, where it was necessary to cleverly utilize available materials - for example, old barrels or stones in gabions - and build the object with regard to the very valuable natural and cultural context of the location.
Several side events addressed the role of the media in contemporary architecture. Discussants emphasized their importance, particularly in conveying complex architectural topics to the lay public and assisting in shaping public opinion. The media create an irreplaceable discussion platform for addressing current issues.


Architecture as Democracy
The first day of July had a sub-theme concerning the present. Architecture is currently facing a number of social issues. The public participates in urban formation, and the importance of communication and media coverage is rising. Instead of solving individual tasks, it is necessary to seek solutions to problems that interest and involve everyone.
Most lectures and discussions addressed contemporary urbanism. It hardly needs to be emphasized that many contemporary cities are undergoing a crisis due to a strong wave of immigration, the growth of slums, the need for social integration, etc.
One of the morning events was an interview on the topic of Project, Mediation, and Decision, where it was possible to compare various views on urban planning, for example, from Paris's deputy mayor Perre Mansat, project manager Peter Wilson, and Colombian architect and urban planner Alejandro Echeverri. Peter Wilson, who has extensive experience with large development projects, for example in Copenhagen or London, pointed out that truly well-prepared urban projects are often championed by individuals who are not "professional" politicians (for example, artists who come to the position of mayor) and who have different political ambitions than are typical for politicians. A very interesting contribution came from Alejandro Echeverri, who is responsible for planning in Medellín, Colombia. Echeverri is the recipient of several architectural awards and has applied his rich experience in Medellín. In a city that has faced numerous social and security issues and which expands uncontrollably into its beautiful natural surroundings, he managed to implement visibly positive changes in just four years. The most important step was the support of education. In the city, 135 schools were renovated and 10 new ones were built, along with several new libraries and parks. These investments were primarily directed to the most neglected neighborhoods. The new libraries were envisioned as places where children and youth can spend their free time, for whom various programs are prepared. He then proceeded to create new urban spaces and connect previously disconnected neighboring city districts, for example, through bridges. Social housing is being built for the poorest residents.
Among the events on the topic of Architecture and Democracy, there was, of course, a block dedicated to libraries as catalysts of culture and democracy. The director of the city library in Helsinki, Maria Bernson, initially contrasted culture and commerce, stating that 250,000 world libraries (90,000 European) outnumber McDonald's or IKEA stores worldwide. After a brief historical overview, which included an image of the Prague library of Strahov Monastery (and an unflattering remark about the ongoing discussion regarding the competition for the new National Library, where architecture is no longer the main concern), she focused on current trends in library design. For the new so-called Google generation, meaning young people born after 1993, libraries must be much more attractive. Members of this generation usually have no problem searching for information, but they often struggle to work with that information thereafter. The new Turin library (among others, presented by its author Mario Bellini) was extensively showcased as a library designed in accordance with the requirements and trends of the new century.

Massimiliano Fuksas

Architecture as Hope
Wednesday, July 3, was dedicated to a sub-theme concerning the future. Hope for architects lies primarily in sustainable development, taking into account available material resources and environmental considerations. Design based on principles of sustainability (ecological, economic, and social) is increasingly becoming an ethical obligation for architects.
Planned events on this day mostly concerned sustainable urbanism and architecture or presentations of new materials and technologies. In a block focused on designing cities on principles of environmental sustainability, some of his projects were presented by Michael Hopkins. Jaime Lerner's somewhat provocative lecture received significant acclaim. He has long successfully engaged in urban planning, has received numerous awards, and in addition to being the president of the UIA, served for several years as the mayor of the Brazilian city of Curitiba and later as the governor of the Brazilian state of Paraná. In Curitiba, he advocated a unique and incredibly cost-effective public transportation system, and as a result, influenced the planning of many major Brazilian cities (Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Recife, Salvador, Aracaju, Natal, Goiânia, Campo Grande, Niterói, and others) and many other cities in South America, China, and other states. Lerner is very pessimistic about new ecological materials and so-called green buildings because they still do not adequately address the serious problems we currently face. We must approach city planning in a completely different way than we currently do. Solving transportation issues is crucial; in cities, he entirely rejects private ownership of transportation means, including bicycles (even bicycles sometimes need to be transported from place to place using other transportation), let alone cars (cars are "like a person who has come to a party, refuses to leave, and drinks a lot"). He emphasizes surface transportation (critically pointing out the high economic costs of digging underground metro tunnels) and the combination of several forms of public transportation. A significant hope lies in working with children ("if you teach children to sort waste at school, they will teach their parents how to do it at home"). Changes in cities must be carried out very quickly; otherwise, there is a risk of increased bureaucracy, security issues, etc.
Other questions on the third day included how buildings themselves should look and function in the future. On this occasion, the issue of high-rise buildings, specifically towers planned in Turin, came up again. Discussants from the firms RPBW and Studio Fuksas defended their projects as environmentally and socially friendly. However, the claims that constructing a high-rise building brings financial resources to the city for subsequent reurbanization or technologies for renewable energy utilization are somewhat debatable.

Shining and Rising Stars

Peter Eisenman

Almost no similar event is complete without lectures from world architectural stars. In Turin, prominent architects Teodoro Gonzales de Léon (this year's laureate of the UIA Gold Medal), Massimiliano Fuksas, Peter Eisenman, Dominique Perrault, Kengo Kuma, Terunobu Fujimori, and Mathias Klotz gave their own lectures. These lectures were well attended, although they rarely had any direct connection to the theme of the congress. And although these architects were advertised as participants in other events and discussion blocks, they often did not participate.
Perhaps due to the organizational confusion mentioned at the beginning, there were problems with inviting prominent world architects. Norman Foster and Renzo Piano declined to attend the congress, and Mario Botta also expressed his reluctance to participate in the media, stating that he had been forgotten when invitations were sent and therefore organized his private event on July 3 at the Turin Teatro Regio as a protest. The main speaker of the congress, Leopoldo Freyrie, referred to these "stars" as already departing architects, stating that he would rather give space to younger architects who are less known but equally capable. Indeed, there were many younger architects among the speakers, and although they had less time available, their presentations were among the most attended.

Accompanying Events
The accompanying program of the congress was indeed rich. In addition to the extensive Design and Building Materials fair Architektonika and the Architectural Textiles Fair Architex, numerous smaller exhibitions and other events took place. Among others, countries like France and Spain as well as some more exotic ones, such as Georgia, Romania, Russia, and New Zealand, presented their architecture (many events also took place outside of Lingotto itself, with Slovak architecture showcased in the center of Turin). Many upcoming projects, mostly Italian, were presented through models, such as the already mentioned Turin library or the waterfront project in the city of Rimini. And of course, there were presentations of competitions, whether two launched for the congress specifically for students or young architects or the International Velux Awards for architecture students.


As Leopoldo Freyrie emphasized during the opening, the UIA World Congress is not as attractive as, for example, the London Festival of Architecture or the Venice Biennale. Its purpose is to seek solutions to the most pressing issues concerning global social problems. Architects and politicians, officials, theorists, and representatives of various other professions have equal standing here. There is more talking and listening than watching.
In this context, it is undoubtedly a positive fact that among the congress participants, very young people, often students, predominated. This is evidence that even members of the youngest generation of architects are interested not only in questions of architectural form itself but also in serious issues related to architecture.
The next UIA World Architectural Congress will take place three years from now in Tokyo and will focus on "Design 2050".

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> Official Congress Website
> Blog: XXIII UIA World Congress of Architecture - first impressions

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We would like to thank VELUX for the opportunity to participate in the congress.