Barcelona, Spain — June 30, 2026. Prof. Thomas Spiegelhalter, PhD—architect, engineer, and urban planner– represented the Florida International University’s School of Architecture at one of the profession’s largest global gatherings as —the 2026 International Union of Architects (UIA) World Congress of Architecture in Barcelona. Held under the theme “Becoming. Architectures for a Planet in Transition,” the Congress ran from 28 June to 2 July 2026, drawing more than 10,000 participants from over 130 countries across venues including the Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB), and coincided with Barcelona’s designation as UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture 2026.
Spiegelhalter shared the stage and engaged with global colleagues during the UN 17 SDGs Commission and Professional Practice Commission sessions at the Joint UIA Commissions Booth — a program space dedicated to translating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into architectural practice.
“Grande Calusa”: Resilient Coastal Living by Design
As part of the Congress’s Guidebook Talks, Prof. Spiegelhalter presented “P173 Grande Calusa: Resilient Coastal Living Through AI-Driven Carbon-Neutral Urban Design,” aligned with SDGs 5 (Gender Equality) and 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure). Developed through his Miami- and Berlin-based practice, the talk explored nature’s algorithms and AI data-driven workflows as tools for sustainable urban resilience. At the project’s core is the New Grande Calusa — an off-the-grid, resilient mixed-use complex of roughly 22.5 acres in Fort Myers, Florida. The proposal responds directly to the devastation that Hurricane Ian brought to Southwest Florida in 2022, including the total destruction of the Sanibel mall complex — reframing coastal development around carbon neutrality, sea-level-rise adaptation, and community-centered living for the decades ahead (a 2025–2100 planning horizon).
Launching the UIA Guidebook for the 2030 Agenda
The session also celebrated the official launch of the new UIA Guidebook for the 2030 Agenda and its online platforms — a milestone in the UN 17 SDGs Commission’s work to give architects practical, evidence-based tools for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals through design.
A Global Conversation
The gathering brought Prof. Spiegelhalter together with leaders and members of the UIA’s international working bodies, among them:
● Left: Prof. Vania Susana Calle Quispe, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA) in La Paz, Bolivia, Cid Blanco, UN 17 SDGs Commission, presenting the UAI-UN publication as a Senior Specialist in Sustainable Urban Development, Housing, and Public Governance and Management at the University of Lisbon, right Thomas Spiegelhalter
Cid Blanco Jr. — Brazilian architect and urban planner, a specialist in sustainable urban development, housing, and public governance, and a leading contributor to the UIA UN 17 SDGs Commission and the 2030 Agenda Guidebook;
● Center : Iman Gawad — Co-Director of the UIA UN 17 SDGs Commission and co-lead of the UIA Guidebook for the 2030 Agenda;
● Right: Tokunbo Omisore — Nigerian architect, UIA Vice-President for Region V and past President of the Africa Union of Architects.
Connecting with co-speakers, colleagues, and delegates at the Professional Practice Commission pavilion, Spiegelhalter joined a worldwide exchange on the critical intersection of AI, bionics, and climate-positive design — momentum aimed squarely at driving real urban resilience.
For FIU CARTA and the School of Architecture, the presentation underscored the school’s engagement with the most urgent questions facing the built environment, and placed Florida’s coastal-resilience challenges into a global dialogue about the future of architecture.
More details on Professor Thomas Spiegelhalter’s contribution to the Grande Calusa Project can be found in the UIA Guidebook for the 2030 Agenda: 2026 Edition. ISBN: 978-65-983702-6-8.
