The Architecture for Exhibition course at YACademy supports students in developing a practice in architecture for exhibition, focusing on technical skills and offering industry insights.

The course trains students in materialising diverse artistic and museum experiences. It provides knowledge of the technical practices to adopt in exhibition design by focusing on preservation practices, lighting techniques and perception psychology.

The design workshop is tutored by Andreas Fries & Tommaso Bernabò Silorata of Herzog & de Meuron and conducted in collaboration with the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

It will focus on the design of a new museum complex in the village of Crespi d'Adda, transforming an industrial village and UNESCO World Heritage Site into a space for culture. Founded between the late 19th and early 20th centuries surrounding a large textile complex, Crespi d'Adda is a highly evocative environment where the industrial dimension interacts with the territory.

With a frequency of three days per week for two months, Architecture for Exhibition hosts several frontal teaching modules with the participation of numerous well-known professionals working at world-renowned companies, including David Chipperfield Architects, SANAA, BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, Herzog & de Meuron, Snøhetta, and many more.

To foster an all-round experience, students will be given the opportunity to visit the design workshop site and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice to gather ideas and useful references for the development of their own project, and Fondazione Prada in Milan.

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 firms.

The course offers multiple scholarships for the most deserving students. It is also possible to participate in the course remotely.

School: YACademy
Course: Architecture for Exhibition
Type: Short course, high-level training
Location: Bologna, Italy, or online
Course dates: November 2026 to February 2027
Application deadline: 4 September 2026

Find out more about the course and apply ›

What will I learn during this course?

– How to design exhibitions, museums and shows
– Preservation practices, lighting techniques and perception psychology to deepen the knowledge of the technical practices to adopt in exhibition design
– New skills in exhibition design, moving into a very prestigious environment of culture, which registers an increasing demand by the most critical and exclusive customers

What are the requirements?

– Participants should have at least a B1 level in English
– Participants should be students or graduates in architecture, landscape architecture, architectural engineering, 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 enhancing the always-different story behind each cultural proposal, 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 BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group, David Chipperfield Architects, SANAA, Herzog & de Meuron and Snøhetta.

Who teaches this course?

– Giuseppe Zampieri, founder of David Chipperfield Architects Milano
– Emanuela Baglietto, partner at Renzo Piano Building Workshop
– Giulio Rigoni, associate at BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group
– Kazuyo Sejima, co-founder of SANAA
– Damien Faraut, architect at Ateliers Jean Nouvel
– Alexander Kindlen, architect at Snøhetta
– Paola Antonelli, senior curator in the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art
– Andreas Fries, senior partner at Herzog & de Meuron

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