How can architecture meet the new needs and be enriched by the link to the past?
The course in Architecture for Heritage aims to train designers who will be able to understand and enhance the memory of historical architectures and take inspiration from them to carry out new interventions in a close dialogue between the ancient and the modern.
With this in mind, Yacademy envisioned an extensive program including special lectures, teaching modules, workshops, and visits focusing on the most advanced survey strategies and redesign of historical architecture.
At the end of the course, students will acquire the ability to read, understand, and manipulate historical architecture through the juxtaposition of contemporary interventions.
Such is the purpose of the course in Architecture for Heritage, an educational program meant for young designers and graduates who want to refine their architectural skills and sensitivity in the dialogue between existing architecture and new interventions, redesigning—through architecture—a historical line bound to be continued by future generations.
Key Information
- Multiple scholarships are available.
- The classes will take place in Bologna, Italy, in a medieval building located in the historical city center. However, online attendance is possible as well.
- The course will start in September 2026 and finish in November 2026, with a frequency of around 3 days per week.
- All modules and activities—lessons, special lectures, workshops, and visits—can be held in Italian or English. In any case, translation into English is always available.
- The application deadline is 26 June 2026.
Structure: Special Lectures, Workshop, and Placement
Special Lectures by Herzog & de Meuron, David Chipperfield Architects, Eduardo Souto de Moura
Yacademy’s mission is to bring young, talented architects into contact with the greatest interpreters of contemporary architecture. With this purpose, the Architecture for Heritage educational program offers a series of special lectures held by the most renowned architects in the field.
Thus, the course will feature Andreas Fries, Senior Partner at Herzog & de Meuron, as a guest lecturer focusing on the refurbishment of the Stadtcasino in Basel. As the Partner in charge of the project, Arch. Fries will discuss the steps taken to adapt the historical music hall—one of the oldest and most important in all Europe—to meet the needs of a contemporary concert hall, while respecting the legacy of the original building.
Architecture for Heritage will also welcome Giuseppe Zampieri, founder of David Chipperfield Architects, Milan, for a special lecture on the intervention on Procuratie Vecchie in Saint Mark’s Square in Venice. Students will delve into the restoration project, analyzing the flexible approach that integrated the complexity of the sixteenth-century structure, its historical changes, and practical adaptations, with a series of new interventions to create a more coherent whole.
Another meaningful intervention will be the one by Eduardo Souto de Moura, who will discuss the relationship between contemporaneity and transcendence.
Other moments will have Valerie Mulvin, Yvonne Farrell, and Shelley McNamara from Grafton Architects, Paolo Zermani, Rowan Seaford from Carmody Groarke, and Gong Dong from Vector Architects as lecturers. Some of them will also share their opinions about the projects students will be developing for the design workshop during the critique sessions.
Design Workshop: Imagine a visitor center at Vulci Castle, a medieval fortress in an idyllic countryside in central Italy
Yacademy’s Architecture for Heritage course invites students to explore the relationship between antiquity and contemporary architecture. The design workshop meets exactly this purpose, being a crucial step of Yacademy’s educational program.
The design workshop for the course in Architecture for Heritage is tutored by Giuseppe Zampieri, founder of David Chipperfield Architects’ office in Milan.
The workshop will focus on the design of a visitor center at Vulci Castle, a medieval fortress considered one of the most iconic architectural landmarks of central Italy, set within an idyllic and preserved countryside and built upon Etruscan and Roman pre-existing layers. Watch the video to learn more!
The workshop aims to experiment with contemporary architectural languages capable of unique expressive qualities, both technically and compositionally, to redefine the relationship between heritage and contemporary use, reflecting on the role of architecture in historical landscapes, where every intervention is required to engage with the memory of the places and the responsibility of transmitting it to future generations.
Divided into groups and tutored by the renowned architect, young designers will thus have the opportunity to enhance their personal and professional skills, refining their ability to work within a team on a real design challenge.
Architecture Feeds on Perception: On-site visits to Vulci, Rome, Bologna
Yacademy’s format is based on real interactions and direct experiences, grounded in the belief that architecture starts with perceiving the space. Therefore, the Architecture for Heritage course includes a series of visits to exclusive locations that are meaningful to the course’s topic and purpose.
First and foremost, students will have the opportunity to visit the design workshop site in order to gather all relevant information and useful references for the development of their own project. The Vulci Castle is located in the Vulci Archaeological Park, one of the most extensive and evocative archaeological complexes of ancient Italy, which unfolds within a natural landscape of remarkable intensity.
The Architecture for Heritage course will also include visits to some of the most significant industrial archaeological sites in the Lazio region, in central Italy, and to relevant historical buildings in Bologna that show the theory and practice of restoration: Palazzo Bevilacqua, Fondazione Zeri, and Cappella Ghisilardi. In both occasions, students will be accompanied by the instructor of the teaching module to ensure a detailed and comprehensive experience.
After the Course: Placement Opportunities
What do you do once the course is over?
Finding your own place in the labor market is one of the biggest challenges in architecture. To help Architecture for Heritage students unlock their careers with a real job opportunity, Yacademy guarantees each designer a proposal of collaboration with one of its partner firms.
Some of the architectural practices with the greatest expertise in relation to the heritage field are David Chipperfield Architects, Herzog & de Meuron, McCullough Mulvin Architects, Aires Mateus, and EMBT Miralles Tagliabue.
Yacademy’s placement program includes a collaboration proposal that has a minimum duration of 2 months and guaranteed remuneration, consistent with regulatory requirements.
The placement for the course will be activated between November 2026 and February 2027, after a thorough process. Yacademy’s placement office will take into consideration the preferences and inclinations of the students so as to find the best possible match.
The collaboration is an opportunity for students to perfect their skills, work, and interact with some of the world’s leading firms, and have a real chance to build a solid network useful for their future.
How to Apply: Admission and Scholarships
Do you think Yacademy’s Architecture for Heritage course might be the right key to unlock your potential as a designer?
Here are some hints on the application process and requirements:
- To ensure a high level of educational experience and immediate placement of students in the most distinguished professional settings, the students will be selected by a committee comprising partners from some of the world’s top firms. The admission to the course is based on the evaluation of the curriculum vitae, a motivational letter, and a portfolio.
- The course in Architecture for Heritage is addressed to students and graduates in Architectural Sciences or other equivalent titles. The selection committee may, however, admit students with different qualifications.
- By applying for the Architecture for Heritage course, you will automatically become eligible for one of the eight scholarships, consistent with the selection committee’s evaluation.
For more information and to apply, visit Yacademy!
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