The Mugak/ Biennial proposes a debate between ethics, aesthetics, and economy for 2027 under the motto “Appropriate, Aesthetic, Affordable”

2026 June 3

03|06|2026

 

• The Mugak/ International Architecture Biennial of Euskadi presented today at the Basque Country Architecture Institute the conceptual keys to its sixth edition, which will take place in the autumn of 2027.

• Drawing on a adaptation of the popular Spanish expression, “Appropriate, Aesthetic, Affordable”, Mugak/ proposes analyzing the relationship between good practice, beauty, and accessibility, placing architecture at the center of public debate.

• As part of the preparations, the biennial's organization has announced that the new Onsite Mugak/ call for entries will open during this month of June 2026.

 

The Mugak/ International Architecture Biennial of Euskadi, an initiative promoted by the Department of Housing and Urban Agenda of the Basque Government, presented today at the Basque Country Architecture Institute the conceptual framework of its sixth edition, which will be held in the autumn of 2027. After dedicating its previous edition to contemporary utopias under the motto “Castillos en el aire” (Castles in the air), Mugak/ now begins a new phase with its feet firmly planted in immediate reality.

Under the motto “Appropriate, Aesthetic, Affordable”, the Biennial proposes a reflection on a question as simple as it is urgent: is it possible today to build appropriate, aesthetic, and affordable spaces for everyone?

The concept was presented this morning at the Basque Country Architecture Institute in Donostia / San Sebastián, during an event attended by the Regional Minister for Housing and Urban Agenda of the Basque Government, Denis Itxaso; the Director of Housing, Land, and Architecture, Pablo García Astrain; the curator of the Biennial, architect María Arana; and the Director of the Basque Country Architecture Institute, José Ángel Medina Murua. As announced at the press conference, Mugak/ will maintain its backbone and international character in 2027, with a program that will unfold across the three historical territories, once again positioning the Basque Country as a meeting point for professionals, institutions, cultural agents, and citizens.

A popular formula to tackle a global crisis

“Appropriate, aesthetic, and affordable” stems from a recognizable, direct, and everyday Spanish phrase ("Bueno, bonito y barato"), but one that almost no one takes seriously in practice, because there is always a suspicion that one of these three premises will ultimately fail. This is the starting point for the Biennial's leadership to raise some of the major tensions affecting contemporary society: the relationship between the ethical responsibility of architecture (the appropriate), the aesthetic quality of the spaces we inhabit (the aesthetic), and the need to guarantee economically attainable solutions (the affordable).

In a context marked by the housing crisis, the climate emergency, material shortages, job insecurity, a lack of skilled labor, and the pressure of consumption models, Mugak/ proposes bringing architecture back to the center of public debate. The new edition aims to question why the quality of the spaces where we live, work, learn, or interact does not occupy a more visible place in social conversation.

During his speech, the Regional Minister for Housing and Urban Agenda of the Basque Government, Denis Itxaso, defended the need to place architecture "at the center of public conversation" and championed its role as a tool to improve citizens' daily lives. In this regard, he stressed that the sixth edition of Mugak/, which will be held between October 7, 2027, and February 2028 under the motto “Appropriate, Aesthetic, Affordable”, aims to open a social debate on the possibility of building "high-quality, sustainable, and economically accessible" spaces, focusing on housing, public space, and the quality of urban environments.

“Architecture cannot be understood as a luxury or as a debate reserved for specialists. It affects all of us because it determines how we live, how we coexist, and how our daily lives unfold,” he stated.

Itxaso also noted that the Biennial aims to continue expanding its public dimension following a growing trajectory of participation, growing from nearly 30,000 attendees in its first edition in 2017 to well over 300,000 visits linked to ephemeral installations and activities in 2025. The Regional Minister announced that the Mugak/ roadmap will begin this June with the On Site Mugak/ call for entries, dedicated to ephemeral architecture in the public spaces of the three Basque capitals. This will be followed by Open Mugak/ in October 2026, and Off Mugak/ in January 2027, to incorporate new activities and proposals aligned with the spirit of the Biennial.

“We want Mugak/ to continue being an open platform for professionals, cultural agents, and citizens, because talking about architecture is also talking about the right to inhabit dignified, sustainable, and well-thought-out spaces. The challenge is to prove that quality, beauty, and accessibility do not have to be incompatible,” he pointed out.

The right to beauty and the quality of everyday life

The sixth edition of Mugak/ will explore the tension between the appropriate, the aesthetic, and the affordable from a broad, critical, and contemporary perspective. The Biennial will invite a rethinking of the value of ordinary architecture—the kind that shapes the daily lives of most citizens and, precisely for that reason, possesses a huge capacity for social transformation.

The curator of the Biennial, María Arana, noted that the motto allows addressing “an uncomfortable but necessary question: how to democratize access to high-quality architecture without assuming that what is accessible must be banal, poor, or lacking in beauty.” Arana advocated for the need to recover the link between good design, construction efficiency, and social justice at a time when architecture faces wide-ranging material, economic, and cultural challenges.

Looking to the past to imagine new answers

Mugak/ 2027 will also look for historical references that allow imagining new answers for the present. Among them, the Biennial will pay attention to experiences such as Mail Order Houses—catalog homes that, at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, allowed broad segments of the population to access well-designed, prefabricated, and affordable houses through efficient industrial systems.

Based on examples like this, the Biennial wants to open a conversation about the possibility of combining innovation, accessibility, and architectural quality. It is not solely a matter of looking back at past solutions, but of asking what lessons can be transferred today to debates on housing, sustainability, material production, industrialization, refurbishment, and the right to more pleasant spaces.

The new edition of Mugak/ thus aspires to move past the imagery of architecture understood as an exceptional object or an auteur gesture, focusing instead on common, everyday, and accessible spaces—places that, precisely because they form part of daily life, must also be appropriate, aesthetic, and fair.

Upcoming opening of the Onsite Mugak/ call for entries

As the first milestone on this roadmap, the Biennial organization has announced that the new Onsite Mugak/ call for entries will officially open during the month of June 2026. This program will seek to activate proposals and interventions for ephemeral architecture in public spaces aligned with the spirit of this edition, offering a platform for sector professionals to present projects that respond to the challenges raised.

The full terms and conditions for participation will be announced shortly through the Biennial's official channels.