Created by the UIA in 1985, World Architecture Day is celebrated annually on the first Monday of October in parallel with UN World Habitat Day.
The theme for World Architecture Day 2022 (3 October 2022) will be Architecture for well-being. The theme is in line with the designation of 2022 as the UIA Year of Design for Health and the Union’s commitment to use evidence-based design to promote health in buildings and cities.
Health, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), is “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity,” and “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition” (WHO, n.d.).
To respond to recent global public health crises including the COVID-19 pandemic and other devastating disasters, the UIA General Assembly in July 2021 declared “2022: UIA Year of Design for Health.” This commitment urges all UIA Member Sections to encourage architects and their clients to use evidence-based design to promote health in buildings and cities, and promotes “Design that protects health, design that develops Better Health, and design that restores health once it is impaired.”
Keeping in mind that the built environment has an impact on the health of the people who experience it, Design for health and well-being should be a fundamental component imbedded in every project, for every practice, and at any scale, which will be emphasised and demonstrated on World Architecture Day.
The UIA will go beyond the role of architecture in making our lives better by protecting, developing and restoring health to examine how architects can better contribute to the physical, emotional, environmental, financial and social wellness of humankind all while having a positive impact on the environment.
This year, World Architecture Day will take place on Monday 3 October 2022, the theme will be Architecture for Well-being.
This year’s theme is in line with the designation of 2022 as the UIA Year of Design for Health and the Union’s commitment to use evidence-based design to promote health in buildings and cities.
This World Architecture Day, we will go beyond the role of architecture in making our lives better, by protecting, developing and restoring health to examine how architects can better contribute to the physical, emotional, environmental, financial and social wellness of all humankind while having a positive impact on the environment.
Join the webinar on 3 October at 2pm Paris Time (8pm HKT) for a discussion by global experts on how architecture can and should contribute to well-being.
Register for the webinar here
It will also feature presentations from the following speakers:
