International Architecture Award “Golden Pencil of Mediterranean”.

First edition: Mediterranean places of worship 2025.

The Order of Architects, Planners, Landscapers and Conservationists of Agrigento, in collaboration with the Foundation of Architects in the Mediterranean-Agrigento and the National Council of Architects, Planners, Landscapers and Conservationist, has announced the International Architecture Award “Golden Pencil of Mediterranean”. First edition: Mediterranean places of worship 2025.

The aim of the award is to foster cultural debate in the Mediterranean basin through architecture as a universal language of debate among people, capable of overcoming political and sometimes religious differences that often prevent a fruitful debate between the civilizations of the earth.

The Award is open to all architects (members of the professional orders or associations of their own country) who work in the countries within the Mediterranean Basin . The purpose of the Prize is for the tenderers to acquire “posters” that illustrate projects for places of worship such as Churches, Mosques and Synagogues, already built in the territory of one of the above-mentioned countries.

Award calendar : –
– Publication date: May 20th 2025
– Deadline for submission of questions by competitor: June 10th 2025
– Publication of answers to questions: June 20th 2025
– Closing of registrations and submission of works, by 12:00 (noon) CET on: July 21st 2025
– Conclusion of the Jury’s work: July 31st 2025
– Publication of results and communication to winners: August 5th 2025
– Award ceremony for winners and exhibition of project works: October 10th 2025

https://premi.concorsiawn.it/matita-oro-mediterraneo-2025

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Natural disasters in the Mediterranean area.
Architects at the service of society – Barcelona, Spain. May 20, 2025

The UMAR (Union of Mediterranean Architects) conference, held on May 20, 2025, in Barcelona during CONSTRUMAT, focused on natural disasters in the Mediterranean, a region highly susceptible to climate change. The event aimed to foster collaboration among architects, institutions, and governments to prevent and respond to disastrous effects, including rising sea levels. Discussions covered emergency actions in various Mediterranean countries like Egypt, Greece, Italy, and Spain, and explored future partnerships with the European Commissioner for the Mediterranean and UNESCO. The conference emphasized architects’ crucial role in societal service and resilience against climate impacts.

Modern Architectural Heritage of the Mediterranean: Common Grounds – Parallel Stories.

International Conference.

Venue: Centre for Mediterranean Architecture, Chania, Crete, October 12-13, 2024.

The Union of Mediterranean Architects (UMAR) in collaboration with the Association of Greek Architects – Panhellenic Association of Architects (SADAS-PEA), the Centre for Mediterranean Architecture (CAM), the School of Architecture of the Technical University of Crete (School of Architecture of Polytechnic University of Crete), the CRISIS Research Laboratory of the Department of Architecture of the University of Ioannina (UoI CRISIS Lab) and the Greek Section of the International Union of Architects (UIA Greek Section), are launching the project Modern Architectural Heritage of the Mediterranean: Common Grounds – Parallel Stories with a Conference in Crete.

Researchers, academics and practitioners from 14 countries of the Mediterranean and the wider region, presented over 60 papers on the theme and discuss the modern architectural heritage of the Mediterranean, its history, the common and parallel stories that defined and shaped the architecture of the region and not only. The conference aimed in presenting contemporary and new readings on the subject but also revealed unknown aspects of the modern Mediterranean architecture.

The organizers were honored to host two distinguished scholars, Prof. Michelangelo Sabatino and Prof.Jean-François Lejeune, who gave their keynote lectures on the evening of Oct.12. Professors Sabatino and Lejeune are the co-editors of the book Modern Architecture and the Mediterranean Vernacular Dialogues and Contested Identities, Routledge, 2010 and the authors of many other books and papers.

The conference took place in the context of the celebration or the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Union of Mediterranean Architects (UMAR) by the Rabat Declaration in Morocco, on January 15, 1994 and the founding General Assembly of July 1, 1994 in Rethymnon, Crete.

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