Architecture for Wellness: The Space for Body and Soul

108 hours of lessons, a 60-hour workshop and internships/lectures held by internationally-renowned architectural firms like Foster+Partners (London), Studio Libeskind (New York) Partisans (Toronto) Emmanuelle Moureaux Architecture+Design (Tokyo) Dejaco+Partner (Bolzano) Alberto Apostoli (Verona) Veneziano+Team (Milan) Matteo Thun & Partners (Milan).

The Course

Body is the main character of our times: it is the attire of our personality, the tool we use to measure ourselves against the world, the image with which we present ourselves to society. Cinema, fashion and photography are only the most recent narrators of a model of the body that has always been the object of human reflection. The modern man has simply renewed this model according to the ideals of style and beauty that are world-renowned and chased through fitness and nutritional programs. In a society that is more and more aware of bodies, there is an increase in the demand for places where the body is nurtured, taken care of, where a person can reach their longed for psychophysical wellness. Both at a public and at a private level, there is an always increasing number of gyms, spas, wellness centers and wellness facilities.

The course of “Architecture for Wellness” was created on these premises, with the aim of shaping designers who are able to give life to refined and captivating architectural experiences that can facilitate and support the search and the achievement of the psychophysical wellness. Studying the perceptive and clinical fundamentals of wellness and the planning and technical characteristics of the different elements of wellness spaces, the students will focus on compositional strategies for wellness, leisure and fitness facilities.

The course will be made up of 108 hours of lessons, a 60-hour workshop and multiple lectures by well-renowned professional architects. The students will gain and improve their skills regarding architectural design for fitness, beauty and wellness facilities. The workshop focuses on a real design case arranged with Technogym and offers a great opportunity to analyze and realize the outcome design. Moreover, thanks to their internships in well-renowned professional firms, the students will gain an efficient link to the labor market.

YACADEMY

YAC is an association which promotes architectural competitions aimed at fostering culture and design research. Over the years, YAC has broadened its experience of work and collaboration with the main architectural firms of contemporary architecture, dealing with diverse and numerous topics of architectural design. Nowadays, thanks to the collaboration with the University of Bologna, YAC’s expertise can serve young designers better, providing them with the creation of high-level educational programs aimed at polishing the skills of the students and offering them a valuable connection to the labor market.

Thanks to the close relationship with internationally renowned professional and academic actors, YAC is the perfect frame within which complete or specialize one’s skills and create a significative link with the most internationally-renowned architectural practices. The courses will take place at YACademy’s headquarters: a historical building located in the heart of Bologna historical city center, close to the Two Towers and next to Piazza Santo Stefano, undoubtedly one of the most picturesque corners of the city.

108 Hours of Lessons

PSYCHOPHYSICAL WELLNESS | 10 hours
Body and perceptions in architecture
Lorenzo Bergami, CEO Strategic Nutrition Center Italy

LIGHT DESIGN | 10 hours
Light and wellness itineraries
Roberto Fuser, Export Director ESSE-CI

DESIGNING WITH WATER | 12 hours
Liquid perspectives in architecture
Emilio Faroldi, professor Polytechnic of Milan

IMMERSIVE STORYTELLING FOR WELLNESS | 12 hours
Immersive itineraries for body care
Andrea Gion, Chief Academic & Training Officer Senso Immersive Experience

HOME SPA| 10 hours
Beauty in its new domestic dimension
Luciana Di Virgilio, co-founder Veneziano+Team

ARCHITECTURE FOR FITNESS | 12 hours
Spaces for physical activities
Mario Lamber, co-founder Lamber+Lamber

DESIGNING WELLNESS | 12 hours
Spaces for body care
Design Unit Starpool

CASE HISTORY | 20 hours
Successful examples of architectures for wellness
Silvia Berselli, professor University of Bologna

TECHNOLOGIES AND SYSTEMS FOR WELLNESS | 10 hours
The composition of the wellness galaxy
Design Unit Partner Companies

Special Lectures

TERME DI MERANO / Luca Colombo, Matteo Thun & Partners
SPAS OF THE FUTURE: WELLNESS AND DESIGN / Simone Micheli, Simone Micheli
GROTTO SAUNA: BETWEEN RELAX AND LANDSCAPE / Pooya Baktash, PARTISANS
DOLDER SPA: LUXURY AND WELLNESS / Nicola Scaranaro, Foster + Partners
CHILDREN’S WELLNESS / Emmanuelle Moureaux, emmanuelle moureaux architecture+design
WEST SIDE: WELLNESS AS A MASS OBJECTIVE / Stefan Blach, Studio Libeskind
WELLNESS AND MOUNTAINS / Ralf Dejaco, DEJACO + PARTNER
SPORT SPACES / Andrea Maffei, Andrea Maffei Architects
FROM MOSCOW TO DUBAI: spas of the world / Alberto Apostoli, Alberto Apostoli

60-Hour Workshop
LUXURY RELAIS
SPA design for the monumental complex of Villa Garzoni
Marco Conti, Alberto Apostoli
Aldo Meucci, Fondazione Nazionale Carlo Collodi

Internships

At the end of the lessons, the students are guaranteed an internship in one of the professional firms relevant to the course topic: