YAC at Herzog & De Meuron

In 2021 YACademy launched the Architectural Workshop, created in order to promote research in the fields of design and to put young designers in contact with representatives of major international architecture firms.

Aimed at young architects, these workshops are led by five of the most distinguished names in architecture: Bjarke Ingels Group, SANAA, David Chipperfield Architects, Herzog & De Meuron, and Mario Cucinella Architects.

The purpose of these workshops is to create a series of installations and architectural interventions in the historical site of Cesare Roversi. Through this Talent Program and the opening of Cesare Roversi's doors, designers can demonstrate their enthusiasm, talent and commitment, while seeing their project realized.

Led by the Swiss firm Herzog & De Meuron, one of the groups was assigned to modify the roof of the building. The goal of this expansion is to increase the production and storage space around the cutting area and therefore optimize the storage of materials before their production.

Young designers Alba Caja, Nevenka A. Krzelj, Santiago Martinez and Vibha Chourasia presented their project to a jury of experts, including Cesare Roversi's CEO, Marco Roversi. Under the tutorship of arch. Andreas Fries, partner of Herzog & De Meuron, the architects reinterpreted  the arches of the existing, while taking in account the juxtaposition of the two pavilions' axes.

The intervention highlights the angular position of the site, while its size evolves from the column positions of the two parallel buildings. The heart of the intervention is framed by two curved walls that create a passage and two communal spaces that emphasize perpendicularity of the site."