Brief
Architects have always been asked to breathe new life into ancient architectures inherited from the past or into historical – often monumental – artefacts that no longer respond to the customs and needs of contemporary society.
Nevertheless, the ancient architectures tell our story and therefore deserve to be restored with interventions that bring along a hint of modernity and show the trace of the design activity.
The “Architecture for Heritage” course has been created on these premises. Its aim is training designers who will be able to understand and enhance the memory of historical architectures and take inspiration from them to carry out new interventions that both meet the new needs and are enriched by the link to the past. In a close dialogue between the ancient and the modern, between existing architectures and new interventions, it is possible to comprehend what has been and what is now, redesigning – through architecture – a historical line bound to be continued by future generations.
The students will learn about the most advanced survey strategies and redesign of historical architectures, and thus be able to protect the ancient wonders without giving up on a contemporary approach to the project. They will acquire skills and experience in a field of design that is always present and offers continuous and valuable job opportunities.
The students will analyse the technical and compositional strategies to adopt in contexts that host outstanding existing architectures through the intervention on archaeological and industrial sites and focusing mainly on the accommodation and cultural use of historical buildings. The course will be made up of 84 hours of lessons, a 32-hour workshop, and multiple lectures by well-renowned professional architects.
At the end of the course, Yacademy Placement office will guarantee each student a proposal for an internship/collaboration within the partner studios.
Course info
15 In person
5 Online
Bologna
8.9.2025 - 14.11.2025
3 days/weekNovember 2025 - February 2026
€ 2,900 + VAT
Online€ 9,700 + VAT
In person*3
Full coverage of the enrollment fee for the most outstanding candidatesTeaching modules & Workshops
Case history
Successful examples of restoration of historical architecturesMultimedia for Heritage
New digital languages for the enhancement of historical heritageIndustrial architectures
From the object to the project: restoration strategiesAncient is sustainable
Principles of environmental sustainability for historical architectureRegeneration of historic hamlets
The city beyond the suburbInterior Design for Historical Architectures
Regenerating through the interior spaceSuburban scenarios
Urban reactivation and enhancement of the recent pastTypological Research and restoration
Theoretical reflections and possible approaches in restorationHistorical non-monumental architecture
Meanings and specificities of vernacular architectureArt and Ruins
Artistic languages as a tool to enhance historical architecturesThe new frontier of survey
Standard and cutting-edge techniques of architectural surveySite Visits
Bologna
Porto
Roccascalegna
Special lectures and critiques
The regeneration of the heart of Basel: the refurbishment of Stadtcasino
Presences and absences: the Catholic University of Louvain
Ireland, between ancient and contemporary: Trinity College, Rush Library and Kilkenny Museum
Bocconi University: transforming the city between opacity and transparency
Behind the scenes in Piazza San Marco: Procuratie Vecchie
Piscina das Marés: the natural environment as preexistence
Monastery of Santa Maria Alcobaça: contemporaneity and transcendence
The restoration of Novara Castle: material and formal stratifications
Castles and contemporaneity: Het Steen Antwerp
Radicality of active conservation: Hill House Box
From Norman stronghold to observatory-mansion
Design workshop
Francesca Singer / SANAA
The workshop is conducted in collaboration with the Municipality of Roccascalegna and will focus on the transformation of the homonymous fortress that sternly overlooks the enchanting backdrop of the Maiella Park. A solitary architecture in a remote land, Roccascalegna materialises the archetype of medieval legends, depicting a mysterious time that is now the prerogative of literature and legends.
Endowed with a scenic layout of rare magnificence, the fortress clings to a rocky outcrop, which seems slender under the weight of the fortress but has nonetheless supported its mighty and massive bulk for centuries. An evocative and appealing place, Roccascalegna has long been a destination for curious and enthusiastic visitors, who experience it even after sunset, in the face of the charm of local skies and far from the light pollution that plagues most urban settings.
The workshop theme is aimed at these visitors, imagining the transformation of the fortress into a place capable of welcoming guests to spend the night inside or at its foot, also taking advantage of the vast slope below to create a series of observatory residences. By establishing an educated and delicate dialogue with the surrounding context, these will nurture the preservation of the asset through an integrated design of slow and sustainable tourism. Old and new in a spectacular context, designing such observatory residences at Roccascalegna will be the ideal framework in which students can experience the delicate interaction between historic architecture and contemporary thought which is the subject of the course's investigation.
Through the workshop, architects will be able to write the future of one of the most precious gems of Italian heritage, confronting different scales of intervention and facing the challenges of the historical, architectural, and landscape pre-existence.
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
To apply, it is necessary to register online and submit a Curriculum Vitae, a Portfolio, and a Motivational Letter. Moreover, it is necessary to pay the application fee (€60 + VAT). The best 20 candidates will be admitted to the course according to the rules.
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.
Past editions gallery
Partners
To each one of them, many thanks from YACademy staff and students.