The exhibition What is This? A Spa, a Gym, a Zoo for Tiny Animals? is on view at the Palau Victòria Eugènia in Barcelona from May 11 to July 5, 2026. Organized by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe and curated by Anna Sala and Ivan Blasi, the exhibition presents the institution's archive through a new curatorial framework, bringing together architectural models, drawings, documents, films, and records of artistic interventions that have taken place at the Barcelona Pavilion since 1986. Open daily with free admission, the exhibition invites visitors to engage with the archive as both a historical collection and an evolving record of architectural discourse.
The exhibition's title is derived from a question posed by the late Catalan philosopher Xavier Rubert de Ventós while reflecting on the Barcelona Pavilion: "What is this? A spa, a gym, a zoo for tiny animals?" Rather than seeking a definitive interpretation of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's iconic pavilion, the question serves as a point of departure for exploring the multiple meanings architecture can acquire over time. Building on this idea, the exhibition encourages visitors to approach the archive with curiosity, presenting it not simply as a repository of documents but as a framework for reconsidering how architecture is interpreted, exhibited, and remembered.
Installed across the expansive interior of the Palau Victòria Eugènia, the exhibition is organized as a cloister that occupies the perimeter of the platform, allowing visitors to circulate through different sections of the archive. The displayed material combines original drawings and architectural models from projects recognized by the EUmies Awards since 1988 with traces of the temporary artistic interventions staged at the Barcelona Pavilion over the past four decades. At the center of the installation, the exhibition also presents the 2026 EUmies Awards selection, featuring models, drawings, and audiovisual material from this year's finalists and winners.
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UIA World Congress of Architecture 2026 Opens in Barcelona Under the Theme "Architectures for a Planet in Transition"The archive is structured into six thematic sections: Phantom Presences, Expressing the World, The Domestic, Matter Imaginaries, Inviting Life, and Alongside. Each theme is introduced through one of the Pavilion's artistic interventions, creating connections between archival materials and broader architectural ideas explored across the awarded projects. Rather than following a chronological narrative, the exhibition groups works according to shared concepts, encouraging multiple readings and new relationships between projects produced in different contexts and periods.
The exhibition also marks one of the final public uses of the Palau Victòria Eugènia before the building closes for its planned transformation as part of the future expansion of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC). Designed by H Arquitectes in collaboration with Christ & Gantenbein, the renovation will adapt the historic structure for its new institutional role.
In other recent news, the UIA World Congress of Architecture 2026 officially opened on June 28 with an inaugural ceremony held at the Three Chimneys power plant in Sant Adrià de Besòs, bringing together architects and researchers under the theme Architectures for a Planet in Transition. Looking ahead, the Tallinn Architecture Biennale 2026 will take place from September 9 to November 30 under the title How Much?, curated by Stuudio TÄNA, Mark Aleksander Fischer, and Mira Samonig. Preparations are also underway for the 2027 Venice Architecture Biennale, with several participating countries beginning to announce their national pavilion concepts.
