Are you sure being an architect is just about design?
Sometimes, talent needs opportunities to thrive and eyes that notice it.
Design workshop tutored by Martina Maier, Snøhetta
As a postgraduate institute resulting from the relationship and collaboration among the most distinguished firms in contemporary architecture, Yacademy values connections more than anything: its unique program based on real exchanges and exclusive interactions helps students get to know some of the names who are shaping the future of architecture.
By making this proximity an essential part of the educational experience, Yacademy aims to offer young talented designers what no other learning opportunity provides: a privileged route to come into contact with the designers you look up to.
What connection actually means: Yacademy’s interactive format
Not just attending a lecture: Yacademy’s format is not limited to the classroom. On the contrary, it involves occasions that encourage interaction, exchanging opinions and views, and asking questions.
After the lectures, students can benefit from moments of informal discussion, critiques, and tutoring activities with internationally recognised professionals working at firms such as ZHA Architects, BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, Morphosis, David Chipperfield Architects, SANAA.
Thus, students are not only provided with the opportunity to study the most notable projects by the greatest interpreters of contemporary architecture; they can also engage in conversations with the experienced architects working at these firms, or get to work on a real design case under their supervision.
These moments are all occasions to get you noticed in their eyes, showcasing your ideas, discussing your works, and impressing them with thoughtful questions. What would you say to professionals from Herzog & de Meuron, Foster + Partners, Snøhetta or Aires Mateus?
Claystorming with Anna Heringer
Critique session with Olga Bolshanina, Herzog & de Meuron
Yacademy podcast – Voices Beyond Architecture: when students take the microphone
In Autumn 2025, two students of Yacademy’s courses made a proposal: creating a private and intimate space to talk with the architects they met in the classroom and ask them about who they are, beyond what they do.
How did the people we look up to become the designers they are? What were their insecurities during the journey, and what difficulties did they have to overcome?
In a nutshell, what does the human behind the architect look like?
Such were the questions that brought Serena L’Assainato and Leah Hoepelman to start the Yacademy Podcast – Voices Beyond Architecture, a project curated entirely by them and supported by the school.
Yacademy students still engage in conversations with the renowned architects who walk between the school’s walls, such as Monica Gaspar Bonilla and Jeremy Addison of Herzog & de Meuron, Martina Maier of Snøhetta, Suzan Ucmaklioglu of Foster + Partners, Fokke Moerel of MVRDV, Jorge P. Silva of Aires Mateus, and many other professionals who disclosed a lot of choices, values, uncertainties, and experiences.
Why a podcast, and why the architect rather than the design process? Because architecture is about people, but you rarely get to know the person behind a project. Bridging this gap is a key point in Yacademy’s mission.
Conversation with Jorge P. Silva, Aries Mateus
Yacademy’s network: connect and work with the best practices in contemporary architecture
Over the years, Yacademy has built a solid network including some of the most influential names in the architectural scene worldwide.
Firms like OMA, Herzog & de Meuron, Snøhetta, ZHA Architects, and Aires Mateus are all practices students can connect with during the course or afterwards, thanks to the school’s exclusive placement program.
At the end of each course, each student receives a proposal of collaboration with one of the renowned architectural practices that participate in the program.
Based on the students’ interests, skills, and professional profile, Yacademy’s placement office aims to identify the most suitable opportunity for each participant and to propose a collaboration or internship with the best matching firm.
According to the latest report, 84% of eligible students accepted the first proposal presented by Yacademy over the past two years. Of these, more than 70 began collaborations with Pritzker Prize-winning firms.
To further strengthen the effectiveness of its placement offer, Yacademy has established new collaboration agreements with internationally renowned practices for the 2026/2027 academic year. Some of the firms involved include BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, David Chipperfield Architects, SANAA, Snøhetta, Kengo Kuma & Associates, Aires Mateus, and Benedetta Tagliabue – EMBT Architects.
Having the opportunity to enter a world-renowned studio can be the decisive step to let your talent stand out: would you miss it?
Giuseppe Marrone placed at BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group
Being an architect beyond design: how Yacademy helps you build a life-changing network
A successful architect is not necessarily the most talented one. More often, they are the ones who build the right relationships and seize the right occasion.
This is what lies at the heart of Yacademy’s mission and values: the aim to provide skilled designers with the opportunities, the encounters, and the recognition they need to grow in the professional world.
Bringing its students closer to the professionals they admire, Yacademy tries to give their talent the chance to be seen. Sometimes, this is exactly what young architects miss after graduation and what turns a dream into reality.
Are you curious about where your future in architecture can lead you? Applications are still open for Yacademy’s courses: take your chance now and turn your career around!
Meeting Álvaro Siza in his studio in Porto
Who would you like to talk with? Apply for Yacademy’s courses and be part of a life-changing experience
Along with design, becoming an architect also means learning to ask the right questions, articulate one’s values and build relationships with the people shaping the profession.
At Yacademy, students do not encounter contemporary architecture only through books, images or lecture slides. They meet its protagonists, engage directly with them, build a network, shape their future career.
Through a series of opportunities – Q&As, discussions, reviews, and podcast recordings, young architects are not simply placed in the same room as influential designers, but are encouraged to speak with them.
Would you rather continue observing the world’s leading architecture studios from a distance or begin a conversation with the people behind them?
Apply for Yacademy’s courses and be part of an experience that will turn your career around!
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