The Wood Architecture course at Yacademy supports students in developing sustainable architecture practices using wood.

The Wood Architecture course at Yacademy, a project by Klimahouse, trains students in generating sustainable architecture using wood, with a great visual impact, which represents the balance between human needs and nature.

The course provides students with a deeper understanding of environmental topics and of designing and producing wood architecture.

The design workshop, tutored by Taro Okabe, Art Director of Shigeru Ban Architects Paris, will focus on the design of a visitor centre in the heart of the Yoshino forest region.

With a frequency of three days per week for two months, Wood Architecture hosts several frontal teaching modules with the participation of numerous well-known professionals working at world-renowned companies, including BIG, Snøhetta, Kengo Kuma and Sou Fujimoto.

Believing that construction is a fundamental step in architecture, Yacademy offers its students the opportunity to participate in a construction workshop, gaining practical experience on construction sites and the authorship of projects capable of defining a turning point in their professional career.

At the end of the teaching modules and workshops, Yacademy's placement office will guarantee every student an internship or collaboration proposal in one of its partner studios.

The course offers three scholarships with full coverage of the enrolment cost for the most deserving students. It is also possible to participate in the courses remotely.

School: Yacademy
Course: Wood Architecture at Yacademy
Type: Short course
Location: Bologna, Italy and online
Course dates: June to August 2026
Application deadline: 13 March 2026

Find out more about the course and apply ›

What will I learn during this course?

– Technical and compositional issues of designing with wood
– Knowledge and skills to manage the construction site of architectural productions using wood, also with a high degree of complexity

What are the requirements?

– Applicants should have at least a B1 level in English
– Applicants should be a student or graduate in architecture, landscape architecture, design or heritage-related studies
– The Selection Committee can admit applicants who hold a different certificate from those mentioned above after examining their CV, portfolio, motivational letter and possibly interviewing them

What facilities and resources are available?

– An educational hub of excellence in a prestigious medieval place in the heart of Bologna
– An architecture library of more than 5,000 volumes
– Numerous apartments in the same building that houses the institute's classrooms. The accommodation service is to be considered outside of the fees for attendance to the courses and it is activated upon request of the students

What career prospects can I expect upon graduating?

Trained in designing and producing wood architecture with specific knowledge of the topics of decarbonisation, students will carry out a period of collaboration with one of Yacademy's partner firms.

Such collaboration will have a minimum duration of two months and guaranteed remuneration consistently with regulatory requirements.

Some of the professional players with expertise in relation to the course topic include Kengo Kuma & Associates, Snøhetta, AMDL Circle, Deux & Demi and EFFEKT.

Who teaches this course?

– Kengo Kuma, founder of Kengo Kuma & Associates
– Taro Okabe, art director of Shigeru Ban Architects Paris
– Jannis Renner, senior architect and project manager at Atelier Brückner
– Marie de France, associate architect at Sou Fujimoto Architects
– Martina Maier, architect at Snøhetta
– Marshall Blecher, co-founder of MAST
– Lars Almgren, senior architect and associate partner at Dorte Mandrup
– Giulio Rigoni, associate at BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group
– Michele De Lucchi, founder of AMDL Circle
– Elora Hardy, founder and director of IBUKU
– Chris and Fei Precht, founders of Studio Precht

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