Unesco chooses Rio to host 27th World Architects Congress

Rio de Janeiro was chosen to host the 27th World Architects Congress, in 2020, an event that will earn the city the status of World Capital of Architecture. The announcement was made today (Jan. 18) at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco), in Paris.

The congress takes place every three years, and, as of the next edition, every city hosting it will be considered world capital of architecture. Rio was selected to compete in 2014, alongside Paris, in France, and Melbourne, in Australia.

The event will be held from July 19 through 26, 2020, promoted by the International Union of Architects (UIA in the original French acronym). The assembly is expected to attract architects and urban planners to debate town planning, culture, mobility, public works, and the construction of inclusive cities. Some 25 thousand people are expected to come to Rio for the gathering.

This will be the first time the event is held in Brazil. Nivaldo Andrade, head of the Institute of Brazilian Architects, noted that the city is known worldwide for being home to works of such names as Oscar Niemeyer, Roberto Burle Marx, and Lúcio Costa.

“The city is also a by-word when it comes to contemporary challenges for architects and for positive experiences in urban planning, as made evident by urbanization programs in the favelas. We can say that Rio brings together the features found in cities not only in Brazil, but also in several places the world over,” Andrade pointed out.

Among the places to welcome the event is the Gustavo Capanema Palace, one of the city’s main modernist landmarks. The building in the downtown area had its project signed by renowned figures in Brazilian Architecture, like Lúcio Costa, Oscar Niemeyer, and Affonso Reidy.