How can artificial intelligence become an operational tool that redefines the very way we conceive and manage urban transformations?
The course in AI for Urban Regeneration, a project by Urban Up | Unipol, aims to train designers to integrate advanced analysis and design tools into urban regeneration processes.
With this in mind, Yacademy envisioned an extensive program including special lectures, teaching modules, workshops, and visits focusing on urban design.
At the end of the course, through the study of urban systems, territorial dynamics, and the potential offered by artificial intelligence, course participants will acquire the skills to approach urban design in a conscious, informed, and innovative manner.
Such is the purpose of the course in AI for Urban Regeneration, an educational program meant for young designers and graduates who want to refine their architectural skills and sensitivity working within the most advanced practices of contemporary regeneration.
Key Information
- Multiple scholarships are available.
- The classes will take place in Bologna, Italy, in a medieval building located in the historical city centre. However, online attendance is possible as well.
- The course will start in November 2026 and finish in February 2027, 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 4 September 2026.
Structure: Special Lectures, Workshop, and Placement
Special Lectures by Zaha Hadid Architects, Foster + Partners, Carlo Ratti Associati
Yacademy’s mission is to bring young, talented architects into contact with the greatest interpreters of contemporary architecture. With this purpose, the AI for Urban Regeneration educational program offers a series of special lectures held by the most renowned architects in the field.
Thus, the course will feature Paolo Matteuzzi, Director at Zaha Hadid Architects, as a guest lecturer focusing on AI as a tool to support creativity. The course will also delve into data, sustainability, and urban design as means to give birth to performative cities, with a special lecture by Nicola Scaranaro, Partner at the Pritzker Prize-winning firm Foster + Partners.
Another renowned professional who will share his expertise during the AI for Urban Regeneration program is Carlo Ratti; his intervention will focus on his research initiative, the “Senseable City Laboratory,” showcasing its aim to anticipate new approaches to the study of the built environment, as well as the tools we use to describe, understand, and design cities.
Other moments will have Frans van Vuure of UNS, Elena Manferdini of SCI-Arc, Andrea D’Antrassi of MAD Architects, Kim Fröhlich of Herzog & de Meuron, and director Liam Young 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: Anticipate the future of urban suburbs through AI in Milan
Yacademy’s AI for Urban Regeneration course invites students to explore the role of artificial intelligence as a tool to analyze, interpret, and design the city. The design workshop meets exactly this purpose, being a crucial step of Yacademy’s educational program.
The design workshop for the course in AI for Urban Regeneration is tutored by Luca Bussolino, Partner-in-Charge and Head of Strategy + Innovation at Carlo Ratti Associati, and developed in collaboration with Urban Up | Unipol.
The workshop will focus on the development of intervention strategies capable of integrating social, environmental, and economic dimensions, constructing evolutionary scenarios for the Missaglia district in Milan.
The workshop aims to engage with the development of strategic visions grounded in the analysis of real data facilitated by AI, with architecture acting as a tool for their implementation and materialization. It will thus be an opportunity to reflect on the future of cities, where technology does not replace design but expands its tools and possible applications, focusing on an area that stands as an emblematic example of the transformations and challenges of contemporary suburbs.
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 Milan, Fondazione Renzo Piano, and FUSE Factory Lab
Yacademy’s format is based on real interactions and direct experiences, grounded in the belief that architecture starts with perceiving the space. Therefore, the AI for Urban Regeneration 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, the Via dei Missaglia area in Milan, to gather all relevant information and useful references for the development of their own project, analyzing the characteristics, critical issues, and potential in relation to urban regeneration themes of a suburban area in Milan Crespi d’Adda still retains an almost intact urban structure, in which housing, facilities and production areas are organised according to a unified design.
The AI for Urban Regeneration course will also include visits to the Renzo Piano Building Workshop Foundation and to FUSE Factory Lab: the former will provide an opportunity to explore design approaches and strategies related to the regeneration of peripheral areas and the transformation of fragile urban contexts, while the latter will aim to explore advanced applications of data, algorithms, and digital systems within a new-generation creative context.
After the Course: Placement Opportunities
What do you do once the course is over?
Finding your own place in the labour market is one of the biggest challenges in architecture. To help AI for Urban Regeneration students unlock their career with a real job opportunity, Yacademy guarantees each designer a proposal for collaboration with one of its partner firms.
Some of the architectural practices with the greatest expertise in relation to the field of urban regeneration and the use of AI in the design process are Foster + Partners, UNS, MAD Architects, Carlo Ratti Associati, and Herzog & de Meuron.
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 March 2027 and May 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 AI for Urban Regeneration 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 AI for Urban Regeneration 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 AI for Urban Regeneration 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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