The Joan Antoni Samaranch Olympic and Sports Museum welcomed a visit from an international group of architects taking part in the UIA (International Union of Architects) World Congress of Architects 2026, held in Barcelona from 28 June to 2 July.
The Congress, one of the largest global gatherings dedicated to architecture, brings together more than 10,000 participants and 250 speakers from around the world in the Catalan capital, with over 100 sessions across eight venues, a central exhibition spanning 4,000 square metres, and seventy architectural itineraries across the region. Spread along the Mediterranean waterfront — from the iconic turbine hall of Tres Xemeneies to major civic facilities across the city — the Congress goes beyond the conventional conference format, inviting participants to experience the city itself.
In this context, a group of architects from Israel, Turkey, Russia, Argentina, China, the United Kingdom and Austria, together with professionals from Catalonia and Spain, visited the museum’s facilities to learn about its architecture, linked to the legacy of the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, as well as its contents and the temporary exhibition Espais esportius, memòria viva.
Attendees included Meidad Gendler (Israel), Sena Ozfiliz (Turkey), Filipp Ramirez (Russia/Spain), Agustín García Puga and Nicolás García Puga (Argentina), Simon Chan (China), Tom Jones (United Kingdom), Harald Fux and Jakob Leismueller (Austria), and Oriol Serra Arnau, Irune Rodríguez, Núria Ayala and Juan Ramón Rius, representing Catalonia and Spain.
The visit adds to the range of activities that, over these days, position Barcelona as an international hub for architectural debate, reaffirming the role of the Olympic and Sports Museum as a meeting point between architecture, sport and the city.
