How can architecture place people at the heart of design?
Yacademy’s course in Architecture for Inclusion aims to train professional designers in reinterpreting diversity as an opportunity to generate better, inclusive, comprehensible, and meaningful architecture.
With this in mind, Yacademy envisioned an extensive program including special lectures, teaching modules, workshops, and visits focusing on diverse aspects of Universal design, which will be explored through Dynamo’s experience and the help of some of the most authoritative voices in the field (including neuroscientists and distinguished architects).
At the end of the course, students will acquire the ability to design better architecture for everyone, with specific skills and knowledge on the technical and compositional elements to be adopted in Universal design.
Such is the purpose of the course in Architecture for Inclusion, an educational program meant for young designers and graduates who want to refine their architectural skills with a new sensitivity towards the issue of accessibility and inclusiveness.
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 March 2026 and finish in May 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 19 December 2025.
Structure: Special Lectures, Workshop, and Placement
Special Lectures by Equipo Mazzanti, MVRDV, Foster + Partners
Yacademy’s mission is to bring young, talented architects into contact with the greatest interpreters of contemporary architecture. With this purpose, the Architecture for Inclusion educational program offers a series of special lectures held by the most renowned architects in the field of Universal design.
Thus, the course will feature Michele De Lucchi as guest lecturer, focusing on the project “Daycare Centre for Alzheimer’s Patients”, developed with his studio AMDL Circle. The design transformed the space into a welcoming and organised place for patients and the family members who assist them, aiming at the respect of the requirements of individuals within the community structure.
A more general approach will be Suzan Ucmaklioglu’s, an Associate Partner at Foster + Partners and an Inclusive Design Specialist. In her works, she seeks to shift the paradigm from compliance-based accessibility to people-centred design, advocating for more equitable and human environments. At Yacademy, she will discuss inclusive design at Foster + Partners.
With his special lecture, Giancarlo Mazzanti, founder of El Equipo Mazzanti, will address the social reintegration of communities of former warriors belonging to the FARC – the armed revolutionary groups in Colombia – through the design of ETCRs, Territorial Spaces for Training and Reintegration.
The course will also include lectures by MVRDV, Alan Dunlop, Archea Associati, MASS Design Group, and Studio Pacifica. 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: Imagining an ideal City Camp for wellbeing, participation and solidarity
Yacademy’s Architecture for Inclusion course aims at providing students with effective skills to generate a sense of community and inclusion. 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 Inclusion is tutored by Aser Giménez Ortega, associate director at MVRDV, responsible for overseeing the work of design teams in MVRDV’s Interior Studio. In his career, he collected extensive experience leading projects of various scales and phases, ranging from masterplans to interior design and from concept to construction.
The workshop, conducted in collaboration with Dynamo Camp, a project with the aim of offering children with disabilities a period of relaxation and fun for free and to contribute in developing their trust in their own abilities and potential, will ask students to develop a replicable and curated model of City Camp which can become a reference for the future expansion of the Dynamo City Camp in Italy and abroad; not just a space for children, but an actual reference for the families, capable of generating a sense of community and inclusion. Watch the video to learn more!
The main objective of the workshop is to define a project capable of combining functionality and feelings, ensuring efficiency, hospitality, and quality in the spaces addressed to the staff and the volunteers.
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.
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 Inclusion students unlock their career with a true 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 universal design are MVRDV, El Equipo Mazzanti, Foster + Partners, AMDL Circle, TAMAssociati, Herzog & de Meuron, Studio Pacifica, Alan Dunlop Architect ltd, Archea Associati.
Yacademy’s placement program includes a collaboration proposal that has a minimum duration of 2 months and guaranteed remuneration consistently with regulatory requirements.
The placement for the course will be activated between June and September 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 Inclusion 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 Inclusion 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 Inclusion course, you will automatically become eligible for one of the three scholarships covering the entire enrollment fee, consistently with the Selection Committee’s evaluation.
For more information and to apply, visit Yacademy!
