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Educational offer

High-level training course, 2025 Edition

Architecture for Education

Course periodNov 24, 2025 – Feb 20, 2026
Applications deadlineSep 5, 2025
PlacementHerzog & de Meuron, SANAA, BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group, Mario Cucinella Architects, MVRDV, David Chipperfield Architects, Edoardo Milesi & Archos, ATI Project
Architecture for Education

Brief

Architecture plays a fundamental role in the lives of human beings. In architecture, one is born, lives and often stays beyond death. It is architecture that serves as a background to human affairs and the ability of architecture to influence society and human behaviour is undeniable.

Architecture is capable of educating.

This statement is always true, but it is especially true in architectures dedicated to education: kindergartens, schools, universities are not only containers of education, but are themselves actors of education, capable of substantially influencing the learning and training of individuals.

This is the reason why the course in Architecture for Education was created: the course by Aresline and Yacademy to train designers who become experts in cognitive processes and the possibilities of architecture to influence society and cultural progress.

Through a study of cognitive and neurological mechanisms differentiated by age group and hybridising different and complementary disciplines such as acoustics, lighting engineering and computer science, designers will be offered the possibility of generating efficient architectures, responding to one of the noblest purposes of human action - educating - but also capable of rising to the role of landmark and icon of our urban fabric.

The course consists of 76 hours of frontal teaching, 32 hours of workshop and numerous lectures by renowned professionals. At the end of the training course, the Yacademy Placement office will guarantee each student an internship/collaboration proposal within the partner firms.

Course info

Language

Italian & English

simultaneous translation in English always available
Available places

15 In person
5 Online

Place

Bologna

Course timeline

24.11.2025 - 20.2.2026

3 days/week
Placement activation

March 2026 - May 2026

Enrollment fee

€ 2,900 + VAT

Online
Enrollment fee

€ 7,900 + VAT

In person*
Scholarships

3

Full coverage of the enrollment fee for the most outstanding candidates
* it can be split in three installments (with a 6% increase on the total amount)

Teaching modules & Workshops

Acoustics

General principles and efficiency in sound diffusion

Lighting for collective spaces

Light as a physical phenomenon and design element

Case study

Virtuous examples of architecture for education

Information technologies

Tools and technology at the service of education

Learning processes

Education between biology and neurological functioning

Education beyond school

Conference rooms and non-school educational buildings

Regulatory principles

Safety and fire regulations

Training and furniture

Complements and technical solutions for educational spaces

Principles of Universal Design

Accessibility and ergonomics of educational space

Primary education buildings

Pre-schools

Secondary education buildings

Colleges and high schools

Tertiary education buildings

Universities

Site Visits

Collodi

Aresline

Campus Leonardo, Milan

Special lectures and critiques

MBA building Versailles: educational architecture according to David Chipperfield

Giuseppe Zampieri / David Chipperfield Architects Milan

Hazelwood: a school for deafblind children

Alan Dunlop / Alan Dunlop Architect

Colours and shapes in education: the design of the Kaleidoscope Kindergarten

Keiichiro Sako / SAKO Architects

Iconic design and formal innovation: education according to Zaha Hadid

Paolo Matteuzzi, / Zaha Hadid Architects

Reuse, innovation and ‘pop’ design: Roskilde Festival Højskole

Fokke Moerel / MVRDV

Child-friendly architecture: environmental consciousness and pedagogical innovation

Mario Cucinella / Mario Cucinella Architects

Light and fluidity: SANAA's campus projects

Kazuyo Sejima / SANAA

Innovation and materiality: the Royal College of Art

Andreas Fries / Herzog & de Meuron

BIG for Learning: innovation and function at Gammel Hellerup High School

Giulio Rigoni / BIG Bjarke Ingels Group

Gravity and grace: architectures as infrastructures for imagination

Yvonne Farrell & Shelley McNamara / Grafton Architects

From the tale of Pinocchio to a school of excellence

Design workshop

Giulio Rigoni / BIG Bjarke Ingels Group

The workshop is conducted in collaboration with the Carlo Collodi National Foundation and will involve the creation, in the village of the same name, of a school of excellence dedicated to the business world. The tale of the puppet destined to become a child is the educational fairy tale par excellence and it has inspired numerous cultural expressions that have spanned the most diverse disciplines and sectors. Consistent with the educational vocation of the tale of Pinocchio, the Foundation has set up a division dedicated to training, and in the near future will be working to offer specific courses reserved for the managerial staff of companies. The workshop takes place in this context, calling for the development of a school of excellence, dedicated to a demanding and selected target that can gather in the town of Pinocchio - a symbol of the educational path of every individual and the need for continuous training - to update skills and expertise. In Collodi, the educational topic, targeted at an elite audience, will be combined with the redevelopment of a former paper mill located along the river that runs through the town - a highly picturesque context to reflect on architecture for educational purposes.

Construction workshop

Construction is a fundamental step in architecture. For this reason, YACademy offers its students the opportunity to participate in the process of producing their own ideas. Thus, the students will gain practical experience on construction sites and, above all, the authorship of projects built for excellent commissions, destined for a major media echo and capable of defining a turning point in their professional career.

Placement

At the end of teaching modules and workshop, YACademy’s Placement office will guarantee every student an internship or collaboration proposal in one of our partner studios.

Teachers

Admission

Requirements

Students or graduates in Architecture/Design can apply to the course. The commission, based on the assessment of the application, may admit students with different qualifications.

Registration

Per candidarsi occorre registrarsi online presentando Curriculum Vitae, Portfolio e Lettera Motivazionale. Inoltre, è indispensabile il versamento di 60 € + IVA a titolo di diritti di segreteria. Al corso accedono i 20 migliori candidati secondo quanto riportato nel regolamento.

Scholarship

By applying for the course, the students automatically become eligible to obtain a scholarship: one will be granted to each of the best 3 applicants for each course, consistently with the Selection Committee's evaluation. Therefore, it is not necessary to make specific actions to apply for a scholarship. The scholarship covers the entire enrollment fee - regardless of the type of attendance chosen -, but does not cover the application fee (€60 + VAT) that has to be paid in order to complete the application process successfully.

Timeline

Complying with deadlines is a fundamental requirement to take part in the course. All students are encouraged to pay the utmost attention to the timeline and to complete each phase in advance.

Applications opening

Applications deadline

Publication of the provisional ranking

Beginning of second-round admissions

Enrollment fee payment deadline for students admitted according to the provisional ranking

Publication of the official ranking (including second-round admitted students)

Lessons start

Download

Make sure you have downloaded the course brochure, from which you will be able to obtain any information about YACademy, as well as every single detail on how to access and enrol in the courses.

Brochure IT

Brochure EN

Download the 2023/24 internships report

Find out all the statistics and placement methodology for the year 2023/24: 39% of students entered Pritzker studios.

Partners

To each one of them, many thanks from YACademy staff and students.

AreslineFondazione Collodi

Architecture for Education

Education 1

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