Barcelona: An Architectural Journey, Learning, Exploring and Becoming

By Themba Orvall Maluleke

My journey to Barcelona was more than a trip. It was an experience of architecture, learning, culture, discovery and reflection. Representing South Africa at the UIA General Assembly in Barcelona was both an honour and a privilege. To be part of a global gathering of architects and to engage with professionals, researchers and thought leaders from across the world reminded me of the important role architecture plays in shaping not only our cities, but the future of our communities and our planet.

The theme of the Congress, “Becoming: Architectures for a Planet in Transition,” was particularly meaningful. We are living in a period of enormous change, and architecture cannot remain detached from the challenges facing society. Climate change, technology, urbanisation, inequality, sustainability and changing ways of living are all influencing the way we think about the built environment.

The conference gave me the opportunity to listen to lectures and presentations from architects and professionals from different parts of the world. I learned about projects, ideas and approaches that are being developed in very different contexts, yet many of them respond to challenges that we also face in Africa and South Africa.

For me, this was one of the greatest values of the experience — learning from the world while reflecting on what those lessons mean for our own continent.

But Barcelona itself became another kind of classroom.

Outside the conference, I explored the city extensively. I visited some of its most iconic architectural landmarks, including the Sagrada Família, Palau Güell and Park Güell, experiencing first-hand the extraordinary relationship between architecture, art, innovation, heritage and craftsmanship.

The work of Antoni Gaudí was particularly inspiring. His architecture challenges the conventional understanding of what a building should be. His work demonstrates how creativity, technology, structure, nature and culture can come together to produce architecture that remains relevant and captivating generations later.

I also visited the Laberint d’Horta, the Three Chimneys, Disseny Hub Barcelona, and explored different parts of the city, including its streets, public spaces and historic urban fabric. I even had the opportunity to visit La Roca Village, experiencing another dimension of how architecture, retail, public space and place-making can influence people’s experiences.

And then there was the walking.

I believe I walked more than 50,000 steps during this trip.

Looking back, some of my most valuable architectural experiences happened while simply walking through Barcelona. Every street became an opportunity to observe. Every building had something to say. The façades, materials, proportions, public spaces, plazas, landscaping and relationship between old and new architecture revealed how much can be learned by experiencing a city at human scale.

You begin to understand that architecture is not only what happens inside a building.

Architecture is the street.

Architecture is the public space.

Architecture is culture.

Architecture is movement.

Architecture is memory.

Architecture is how people experience a place.

Barcelona reinforced something I have always believed: architects must continue to be students of the world.

We must travel.

We must observe.

We must listen.

We must question.

We must learn from different cultures and contexts.

And, most importantly, we must bring that knowledge home and use it to contribute to our own communities.

My experience in Barcelona therefore left me with more than photographs and memories. It gave me new perspectives on architecture and strengthened my belief in the importance of collaboration between architects across borders.

As an African architect, I was reminded that our continent has an important voice in the global architectural conversation. We have our own challenges, but we also have extraordinary opportunities to innovate, create and develop solutions that respond to our unique social, cultural and environmental realities.

The world is changing, and architecture must change with it.

“Becoming” is therefore not only a theme for a congress. It is a continuous journey for all of us as professionals.

Barcelona was part of that journey for me.

I arrived ready to learn.

I walked the city ready to observe.

I listened to voices from across the world.

I experienced architecture beyond the pages of books and drawings.

And I returned home inspired, challenged and still becoming.

For that, Barcelona will remain much more than a destination in my memory.

It became an architectural experience that I will carry with me into the next chapter of my professional journey.