10-11 and 17-18 October 2026, Casa da Arquitectura, Matosinhos, Portugal
The full program for the 2026 CICA International Conference on Architectural Criticism is now out!
Titled “Architectural Criticism: Resistance and Commitment” the conference will take place the first time predominantly in person since 2021, on 10-11 and 17-18 October 2026 at Casa da Arquitectura, Matosinhos.
Counting with keynote lectures by Patti Anahory, Kazi Khaleed Ashraf, Valerio Paolo Mosco, and Joan Ockman, over the two weekends paper presentation sessions will take place promoting the debate on the potential of architectural criticism as a space of resistance and commitment within the discipline, capable of uncovering the hidden structures of power, meaning, and social formation.
“Truth, if rigorously deduced, then uttered or written, leads to enlightenment. In his Nobel Prize for Literature acceptance speech of 1957, Albert Camus reminded us that writers serve truth and liberty: “the nobility of our craft will always be rooted in two commitments, difficult to maintain: the refusal to lie about what one knows and the resistance to oppression.” Today, once again the world faces the collapse of shared meaning and the erosion of collective hope, natural and human catastrophes, the rise of military and oppressive regimes, the annihilation of communities, and the violent seizure of land. In this context, writing reasserts itself as an act of resistance, a means of giving voices to those who remain unheard.”
Since its first edition in 2020, the conferences have brought together critics, architects and researchers to explore various themes related to architectural criticism and thought. Previous editions have addressed “On the Duty and Power of Architectural Criticism” (2021), at the University of Texas at Austin; “Defining Architectural Quality” (2022), at the University of Navarra; ‘Architecture as Built Criticism’ (2023), at Tongji University; ‘Architecture between Autonomy and Engagement’ (2024), at Mackenzie University and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul; and ‘Temporality and Territoriality in Architecture’ (2025), at Yale University.
On this conferences, some of the most renowned figures in architectural criticism, theory and practice have come together, including Kenneth Frampton, Philippa Tumubweine, Ruth Verde Zein, Zhen Shiling, Silvia Arango, Rahul Mehrotra, Tosin Oshinowo, Juhani Pallasmaa, Al Borde – David Barragán, Pascual Gangotena, Marialouisa Borja and Esteban Benavides, Wang Shu, Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu, Denise Scott Brown, Nzinga Mboup and Álvaro Siza.
The conference full program can be seen here.
More information on Casa da Arquitectura’s website.
