Here is what's in store for next week’s UIA World Congress of Architects in Copenhagen

The 2023 edition of the UIA World Congress of Architects kicks off this weekend in Copenhagen with an impressive list of leading figures from the international architecture community on hand to debate and dissect some of the industry's most pressing issues.

Beginning Sunday, July 2nd, the four-day conference will include a number of different keynote addresses, presentations, and exhibitions in the city’s Bella Center that expand on its theme, ‘Sustainable Futures — Leave No One Behind.’

Mette Lindberg, CEO of the UIA World Congress of Architects 2023, shared: “We believe that a decade from now, participants of the congress will reflect on how this event in Copenhagen became the catalyst for redefining their practices. Our mission is to encourage the built environment to discover new ways to design and build what is not only environmentally sustainable but also socially sustainable. It's about redefining the paradigm and building a future where the planetarian boundaries, inclusivity, and biodiversity are at the core of every project.”

Among the more than 400 speakers, Bjarke Ingels, Carlo Ratti, Jeanne Gang, and last year’s Pritzker Prize laureate Francis Kéré will be featured alongside Reinier De Graaf, Christian Benimana, Lina Ghotmeh, Nathalie De Vries, 2020 Pritzker winners Yvonne Farrell & Shelley McNamara, this year's RIBA Gold Medal winner Yasmeen Lari, and other luminaries representing a total of 135 different countries. 

A total of 15 different experimental ‘SDG’ pavilions will also play a significant role in the conference’s programming, spread throughout the city as entry nodes that welcome visitors to the 2023 World Capital of Architecture. Each of the pavilions was designed by a Danish firm, and all are related in some ways to one or more of the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

They are among the 70+ side events slated to take place as part of the Congress, more information about which can be found here. The full list of guest speakers can also be accessed here. 

The 2023 UIA World Congress of Architects is the first to be held in a Nordic country and represents the 28th overall Congress meeting dating back to the UIA's founding in 1948.