Union Professionnelle d'Architectes
Beroepsunie Van Architecten

The main international organizations

Architects' Council of Europe (ACE)
This organisation, created in 1990 and based on the merger of Comité de Liaison des Architectes de l'Europe Unie (CLAEU) and the Conseil Européen des Architectes (CEA), has taken over the objectives and activities of CLAEU, namely: exchange of information and organization of a common strategy regarding current professional issues (education, competitions, site safety, contracts, responsibilities,...), lobbying and negotiations with the EU authorities and with other countries. With a permanent Secretariat based in Brussels, the ACE operates on the basis of numerous Work Groups that bring together representatives of interested countries. Two General Assemblies per year bring together delegates from Member Countries and several other countries as observers. Belgium is equally represented in the ACE by the Conseil National de l'Ordre des Architectes and the FAB (Fédération des Sociétés d'Architectes de Belgique).

International Union of Architects (UIA)
This important international organization, created in 1948 on the basis of the merger of the Comité Permanent International des Architectes (CPIA) et des Réunions Internationales d’Architectes (RIA), is organized in continental zones and has its headquarters in Paris. Although at the beginning it had a cultural vocation (competitions, teaching, world thematic symposia, positions on the future of the planet, etc.), it quickly established itself as an essential partner (in 1956 UNESCO adopted the UIA regulations and the "Recommendation for the organization of international competitions in architecture and town planning"). Belgium is represented in the UIA by the FAB.

Architects Council of Central and Eastern Europe (ACCEE)
Council established in 1992.

European Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA)
Created in 1995, this group brings together American architects working in Europe and some European architects working in the USA.

Alliance des Architectes Francophones (AAF)

This global network of professional organizations and architects “using French as a working language” was made up, at its inception in June 2021, of the Orders and Associations of Architects of France (including the CNOA and the Syndicat de l'Architecture), Belgium, Lebanon, Luxembourg, and representatives of the Federation of Francophone Architects of Africa (FAFA).

International teaching and research organizations

European Association for Architectural Education (EAAE)
Founded in 1975, this association is dedicated to the exchange of ideas and people in the field of teaching and research in architecture (it was effectively constituted in 1987). Its objective is to improve knowledge and the quality of teaching in architecture and urban planning through conferences, seminars and summer universities, whose proceedings it publishes and distributes.

Consultative Committee for Education in Architecture (CCEA)
This committee, set up in 1985 by the European Commission, in the wake of the European "Architects" Directive (85/384/EEC) of 1985, is responsible for approving training courses in architecture that are now recognized at European level.

European Network of Heads of Schools of Architecture (ENHSA)
This body, which aims to bring together representatives of the heads of European schools of architecture, began its activities at the beginning of 2002. It is an initiative launched by the EAAE and supported by the European Commission in the framework of the Socrates programmes.

European Network for Administrative Co-operation in Architecture (ENACA)
Founded in 2007, ENACA is the European network of competent authorities in the field of architecture. Its objective is to provide a forum for competent authorities to improve administrative cooperation and exchange best practices on the implementation of the Directive on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications (PQD), with a view to facilitating the professional mobility of architects.

European Observatory of Doctoral Research in Architecture (EODRA)
It is an online database in which all research activities in the field of architecture can be registered in order to foster collaborations and develop the quality of research produced by the European system of architectural education.

Architectural Research Network (ARENA)
An open and comprehensive network for European architectural researchers across Europe. It provides a sharing platform to promote, support, develop and disseminate high quality research in all fields of architecture (design, engineering, environment, urban planning, landscaping, etc.).

International Council for Research in Architecture (ICRA)
Organization in relation with the EEAA.

Architectural Research Centres Consortium (ARCC)
Founded in 1976, ARCC is an international association of architectural research centres dedicated to the development of culture, research and supporting infrastructure in architecture and related design disciplines. It brings together schools of architecture engaged in architectural research and sponsors projects, conferences and other activities. This consortium, of American origin but with an international vocation, maintains relations with the EAAE.

International organizations for the history and culture of architecture

World Capital of Architecture (WCA)
Initiative launched in 2019 by a joint UNESCO-UIA committee: the cities of each UIA World Congress are named World Capital of Architecture and become for one year a world forum to meet the challenges of today's urban context.

European Forum for Architectural Policies (EFAP)
Launched in Paris in 2000, it brings together representatives of ministries, professional bodies and cultural institutes and aims to encourage the exchange of views and experiences and to implement concrete actions and common tools. Dissolved in 2015 following internal problems, it seems to have been relaunched in the meantime. Belgium is represented by the Architecture Unit of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.

European Architectural History Network (EAHN)
Founded in 2005, the EAHN supports research and education by providing a forum for the exchange and dissemination of knowledge on the history of architecture.

Humanities in the European Research Area (HERA)
HERA's mission is to promote and support European research in the fields of art and humanism through funding, collaboration and research consultancy (in fields such as history, urban studies, art history and architecture in particular).

International Committee of Architectural Critics (ICCA)
This body, created in 1978 on the occasion of a UIA congress, brings together critics, theorists and historians from all over the world with a view to including critical debate and theoretical discourse in the design process. ICCA cooperates with governmental and non-governmental institutions working to improve the quality of life through better urban planning, architecture and landscape design.  

Fondation des Architectes du Monde (FAM)
Foundation created in France in 2014 with the aim to encourage the training of architects in France and around the world, to conserve and promote the world's architectural, historical and cultural heritage, to support and develop the humanitarian commitment of architects in France and around the world and thus contribute to the influence of architecture.

Guiding Architects
This international network, created in 2004, brings together organizations of guided architectural tours from different countries and cities.

International Academy of Architecture (IAA)
This association, created on the initiative of a Bulgarian architect, Georgi Stoilov, regularly brings together architects from all over the world for symposia, conferences, workshops and competitions, as well as for visits and excursions. It has created the Interclub of Architects (ICA) which organizes its activities, as well as the International Forum of Young Architects (IFYA).

World Architecture Day (WAD)
An initiative launched in 1997 by the International Union of Architects (UIA), which annually sets the date (month of October) and the general theme. It was organised in Belgium for the first time in 2002 on the initiative of the Vlaams ArchitectuurInstituut (VAI).

Network for Theory, History and Criticism of Architecture (neTHCA)
Network created in 1998, which is based in Belgium.

International professional organisations

Collège International des Experts-Architectes (CIEA)
The (Belgian) National College of Architectural Experts (CNEAB) has always been very active within this exchange structure which organized regular meetings (but which has been dormant for a number of years).

EUROKA
It is a partnership charter signed in 1993 between the national or regional orders of the seven border regions of the Länder of Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate, the provinces of Liège and Luxembourg, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the regions of Alsace and Lorraine. It aims to harmonize standard contractual documents, to develop professional, cultural and human relations between architects and to defend the interests of the profession.

EUROPAN
European ideas competition launched in 1988 (and inspired by the French PAN: Programme d'Architectures Nouvelles) which is aimed at architects under 40 years of age and which aims to deepen reflection in the field of housing and urban planning by allowing young European architects to compete on sites proposed in different European countries. In Belgium, only the Walloon Region has so far supported this competition, which was led by the former president of the Pierre Sauveur Order until the FAB took over in 2020.

European Grouping of Insurers for Architects and Designers (GEAAC)
Created in 1999, this exchange structure brings together the various insurance companies of designers in general and architects in particular, such as the very important Mutuelle des Architectes Français (MAF) or the Belgian insurance cooperative AR-CO.

International Market of Real Estate Professionals (MIPIM)
Event launched in Cannes in 1989.

European Secretariat for Independent and Social Liberal Professions (SEPLIS)
Body for the promotion and coordination of the liberal professions in which architects are represented.

COBATY International
COBATY International is an international organization for construction, urban planning and the environment which brings together professionals in the "act of building". COBATY International was born from the French association COBATY France, itself created more than 50 years ago to promote exchange and dialogue, with a view to improving the "living environment" and defending the general interest: architects, lawyers, financiers, engineers, contractors, materials manufacturers, surveyors or planners, from the private sector, but also representatives of the public sector or the mixed economy. COBATY International Belgique/België is one of its recognised member associations.

The international organisations of young architects

Fédération Mondiale des Jeunes Architectes (FMJA)
An association under French law created in 1996 which contributes to the implementation of actions in favour of architects under the age of 40. It is a platform for coordinating, promoting, stimulating and strengthening the actions undertaken by its members or by the bodies accredited by the association, in particular for the organisation of the World Forums of Young Architects.

European Architecture Students Assembly (EASA)
This association followed an invitation made in 1981 by architecture students from Liverpool to other European architecture students to reflect on the problems of their city. Every year it organises a thematic assembly in a different European city. The EASA has little or no formal structure as each event is organised as a single event although a system of national contacts ensures that the event is well organised each year.

Wonderland
This very active and unashamedly ambitious association of European architects has its origins in an architectural exhibition organised in Carinthia (Austria) in 2001 by young architects used to working in large agencies throughout Europe: this exhibition then toured the various countries of Europe until 2007, gradually enriching itself and serving as a pretext for exchanges.

Young European Architects (YEA)
This international institution was created following the seminar for young architects in Europe organised by the Bouwmeester Bob van Reeth in 2002. The Flemish government proposed to subsidize the formalization of this initiative, based initially in Antwerp. The YEAs have more recently collaborated with the Wonderland association.

International organisations of women architects

International Union of Women Architects (UIFA)  
Organization of women architects from 90 different countries, founded in 1963 and headquartered in Paris. Its aim is to make known and promote women architects, to establish relations and exchanges between professional women in the field of life, and to collect all information concerning the stature and professional life of these women throughout the world. The now defunct Union of Women Architects of Belgium (UFAB) was attached to it.

International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA)
This institution was established in 1985 as a joint program of the College of Architecture at Virginia Tech. IAWA's goal is to document the history of women's contributions to the built environment by collecting, preserving and providing access to the professional records and documents (dating from the 1890s to the present) of women architects, landscape architects, designers, architectural historians and critics, and urban planners.

Humanitarian associations of architects

Fondation Architectes de l’Urgence (FAU)
Association created in 2001 by a group of architects, on the occasion of the floods of the Somme in France, and which since then has been providing security, advice and assistance to populations affected by natural or technological disasters, in France and abroad (as far away as Australia).

Architecture for Humanity (AfH) and Architects for Aid
Two British associations with an international vocation.

Architects Without Borders
Associations exist in France, Spain, the United Kingdom and (latest news) Belgium. On the initiative of ASF Belgium the "Hasselt Charter" was signed on 25/11/2005 in order to federate the different sections of ASF within a European network.

Former international organizations

Association of Architects of the Capitals of Europe (ARCE)
An international association, founded mainly on the initiative of architects from Berlin and Madrid, which regularly brought together, on an informal basis, delegates from the orders and associations concerned. At the end of the 1990s, delegates from the Council of French-speaking Brabant (and to a lesser extent Flemish Brabant) took part in ARCE activities.

Centre Européen pour la Ville et l’Architecture (CEVA)
Centre created in 2000.

Comité de Liaison des Architectes de l'Europe Unie (CLAEU)
One of the aims of this committee was to seek agreements between the representatives of each Member State on vocational training and qualifications. It will disappear following the creation of the Architects' Council of Europe (ACE).

Comité de Liaison des Architectes Indépendants (CLAI)
It is an informal body that replaced the CLAEU (when the ACE was created in 1990) and which brought together informally representatives of countries that were not members of the ACE (e.g. the Netherlands) as well as representatives of professional groups from certain member countries (Belgium, France). Since all EU countries are members of the ACE, the CLAI no longer meets.

Comité International des Architectes (CIA)
The first international body of architects, created in 1864, which in 1867 became the Permanent International Committee of Architects (CPIA).

Comité Permanent International des Architectes (CPIA)
Transformation, in 1867, of the International Committee of Architects (ICA), the CPIA will function for another 75 years before merging into the International Union of Architects (UIA).

Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM)
Company founded in 1928 by a group of avant-garde architects led by Le Corbusier and Siegfried Giedion at the Château de la Sarraz, near Lausanne. It has played a very important role in the dissemination of the theories of modern architecture.

Conseil Européen des Architectes (CEA)
Created in 1988 on the initiative of Spain and France, this council was intended to bring together the orders of architects of the different European countries with different types of structures. It was replaced in 1990 (as was CLAEU) by the Architects' Council of Europe (ACE) in 1990.

Réunions Internationales d'Architectes (RIA)
Created in 1932 under the aegis of the magazine "L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui" and its young editor-in-chief Pierre Vago, they will collaborate in 1937 with the CIAM on the occasion of a historic joint session held in Paris.