IFAU 2025
IFAU 2025 – International Forum on Architecture and Urbanism
Theme:
POWER, SPACE, AND CULTURE
Contemporary Dialogue in Architecture, Urbanism, and Heritage
Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning
Polytechnic University of Tirana
Tirana, Albania
20–23 November 2025
Overview
In an era of rapid global urban transformation, the interconnection of power, space, and culture has become a defining force in shaping contemporary cities. IFAU 2025, the 5th edition of the International Forum on Architecture and Urbanism, offers a platform for rethinking the spatial, cultural, and political dimensions of the built environment in the 21st century.
Urbanisation continues to expand rapidly, often intensifying inequalities, fragmenting cultural identities, and placing mounting pressure on the sustainability of our cities. Simultaneously, emerging technologies, social movements, and environmental agendas are reshaping how we conceptualise and inhabit urban space. Architecture and urbanism are no longer neutral disciplines; they are deeply embedded in processes of governance, economic flows, memory, and transformation.
The IFAU 2025, titled “Power, Space, and Culture – Contemporary Dialogue in Architecture, Urbanism, and Heritage”, aims to discuss how power manifests spatially; how architectural and planning practices can reproduce or disrupt hierarchies; and how cultural narratives are constructed, preserved, or contested in the urban realm.
From heritage destruction to gentrification, from informal settlements to smart cities, from post-disaster and conflict reconstruction to speculative megaprojects—our cities reflect the complex negotiations between the past, present, and possible futures. IFAU 2025 positions itself as a forum for critical inquiry, design innovation, and interdisciplinary exchange.
Objectives of the Forum
- Exploring the relationships between power, space and culture in shaping contemporary cities.
- Promoting interdisciplinary dialogue between architects, planners, researchers and policymakers.
- Addressing urban inequalities and spatial justice through comprehensive planning approaches.
- Rethink the role of heritage in rapidly transforming urban environments.
- Addressing global challenges, including climate change, technological change and post-disaster reconstruction.
- Reflecting on ethical responsibilities in architectural and urban practice.
Why Tirana?
As the host city, Tirana embodies the very tensions and possibilities explored in the Forum. Marked by dramatic political shifts, rapid urbanisation, and an evolving cultural landscape, the Albanian capital serves as a living laboratory for exploring questions of transformation, identity, and resilience. From Ottoman-era bazaars to socialist architecture, from informal settlements to hyper-modern developments, Tirana provides a unique backdrop for this global exchange.