Sacred architecture opens the Foros 2025 series of conferences

Sacred architecture was the focus of reflection at the first conference of Foros 2025, the series of conferences organised by the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, which this year was held under the title “Principle, Form and Conservation of Architecture. The Paradigm of Sacred Architecture”, In this inaugural session, held on Wednesday 9 April in the Aula Magna of the Barcelona Campus, experts from the sector offered an in-depth and complementary look at the challenges, meaning and validity of religious architecture in the contemporary context.

The session was presented by Doctor of Architecture Josep Lluis i Ginovart, professor of Architectural Heritage Intervention at UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, Doctor of Architecture Cinta Lluis Teruel, lecturer at UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, and Dr in Architecture Ricardo Gómez Val, deputy director and lecturer at the same institution. Josep Lluis i Guinovart outlined the importance of this year's cycle at a time of critical review of the foundations of architecture. “Foros 2025 invites us to rethink architecture from its most essential principles, with Christian sacred architecture as a universal model,” he said.

Doctor of Architecture and theologian Héctor Devesa Santacreu opened the day with a reflection on the theological and symbolic dimension of liturgical architecture. He stated that sacred architecture cannot be reduced to a formal or stylistic question but must respond to a spiritual vocation: that of making the invisible visible. The liturgy is not just a rite: it is an act where God becomes present in the human, and architecture has the responsibility to welcome this presence,” he explained.

From a technical and patrimonial perspective, the architect Leopoldo Gil Cornet shared his experience of the restoration of temples and religious spaces, defending an intervention that respects time and memory. “Old but not destroyed. With the mark of time. This is what we must look for in restoration”, he pointed out. Gil called for an “objective” approach to heritage, far removed from universal theories and based on active listening to the place: “Restoration should be done for the object itself, not by applying preconceived theories.”

Finally, architect Nacho Vicens Hualde transported the audience to a different context – that of large-scale ephemeral architecture. Specifically, he addressed the challenge of religious ephemeral architecture, drawing from his experience designing liturgical spaces for the World Youth Days in 2004 and 2011. The architect explained the solutions implemented to rapidly construct secure, functional, and symbolically powerful structures: “The Pope’s visibility had to be guaranteed from every vantage point – everything was designed with that in mind.” He also highlighted the importance of modularity and scenography in large-scale environments with institutional complexity.

The day concluded with a round table between the speakers, where they discussed the balance between the permanence of the sacred and the new ways of inhabiting it. They agreed on the need for an architecture that does not impose but listens – one that resolves technical challenges while also creating meaning.

The series will continue in the coming weeks with sessions focusing on the conservation of religious heritage, including a discussion on Barcelona’s Sagrada Família as a symbol of innovation, management, and international projection. This perspective takes on particular significance in the lead-up to Barcelona’s designation as the World Capital of Architecture in 2026.