Are you interested in designing for art and culture?
Yacademy’s course in Architecture for Exhibition aims to train professional designers in materializing diverse artistic and museum experiences. Behind each cultural proposal, there is always a unique story, and architects should know how to enhance it.
With this in mind, Yacademy envisioned an extensive program including special lectures, teaching modules, workshops, and visits focusing on diverse aspects of the exhibition design, such as preservation practices, lighting techniques, and perception psychology.
At the end of the course, students will acquire specific sensitivity in relation to the needs of cultural and museographic design. How can you design a journey for the eye and the mind? How can you guide visitors through a path of beauty and meaning?
Such are the questions behind the concept of Architecture for Exhibition. The course is meant for young designers and graduates who want to boost their architectural skills in the cultural industry.
Key Information
- 3 scholarships are available, each covering the entire enrollment fee.
- 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 2025 and finish in February 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 5 September 2025.
Structure: Special Lectures, Workshop, and Placement
Special Lectures by Sanaa, Ateliers Jean Nouvel, BIG
Yacademy’s mission is to bring young, talented architects into contact with the greatest interpreters of contemporary architecture. With this purpose, the Architecture for Exhibition educational program offers a series of special lectures held by the most renowned architects in the field of exhibition design.
Thus, the course will feature Kazuyo Sejima’s speech about SANAA’s New Modern Museum in Lower Manhattan to throw light on the power of essentiality, highlighting the importance of having a clear concept and translating it into reality.
Volumes and brightness are the other two essential elements of museum and exhibition design. They are also crucial to Steven Holl’s vision, which the renowned American architect will explore in his special lecture during the course.
Kengo Kuma’s special lecture will focus on the use of wood as exhibition scenography, analysing the Odunpazari Modern Museum.
Giulio Rigoni from BIG, on the other hand, will deal with museums as iconic presences.
Other speeches will include Lars Johan Almgren from Dorte Mandrup, Patrick Lüth from Snøhetta, and Martine Bedin from Ateliers Jean Nouvel. Some of the guest lecturers will also share their opinions about the projects students will be developing for the design workshop during the critique sessions.
Design Workshop: Exhibit the Masterpieces of the 20th Century With DCA
Yacademy’s Architecture for Exhibition course aims to provide students with effective skills to respond to the needs of the cultural industry. 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 Exhibition is tutored by Giuseppe Zampieri, founder of the David Chipperfield Architects office in Milan. After joining the Pritzker Award-winning practice in 1996, he became Director of Design in 2002 and a Partner in 2016. His career includes international projects of diverse nature as well as the curation of the fit-outs for exhibitions on David Chipperfield Architects in various locations in Italy.
The workshop, conducted in collaboration with the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, one of the most renowned museums of modern art in the world, will deal with the set-up of one of the temporary exhibitions scheduled in the museum for 2026. Watch the video to learn more!
The exhibition will focus on the history and exhibitions organised in the first Guggenheim gallery in London between 1938 and 1939. More specifically, students will have the opportunity to imagine a display of works of artists such as Kandinskij, Dalì, and Mondrian.
Divided into groups and tutored by the prestigious architectural studio, 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.
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 Exhibition students unlock their career with a true 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 exhibition design are Kengo Kuma & Associates, David Chipperfield Architects Milan, Snøhetta, Ateliers Jean Nouvel, SANAA, and BIG.
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 and May 2026, 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 Exhibition 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 latter can be submitted for a pre-evaluation carried out by the Yacademy management team.
- The course in Architecture for Exhibition is addressed to students and graduates who have obtained a master’s degree in Architectural Sciences or other equivalent titles. The Selection Committee may, however, admit students with different qualifications.
- By applying for the Architecture for Exhibition course, you will automatically become eligible for one of the three scholarships covering the entire enrollment fee, consistent with the Selection Committee’s evaluation.
For more information and to apply, visit Yacademy!
