YAC Conference & Exhibition 2025–2026 - Young Architects Conference – Köln

Opening on Friday, July 3 at 5 pm,
with the Young Architects Conference

The Young Architects Conference (YAC) is an international exhibition and conference format that has emerged from the long-standing cooperation between the Kyoto Institute of Technology (KIT) and the TH Köln. As a bridge between two universities, two cities and two cultures, it promotes young freelance architects from the Cologne and Kyoto regions.

The Young Architects Conference presents the work of 60 young architecture firms from Germany and Japan in an exhibition and conference. The projects on show reflect the current architectural discourse and at the same time open up new perspectives for the building of tomorrow. The Young Architects Conference sees itself as an international forum that deepens the architectural dialog between the two countries and strengthens creative exchange in the long term.

After stops at the Kyoto Museum (2025) and the Bangkok Design Center (2026), the traveling exhibition will now be shown in Cologne and opened with a conference.

Exhibition July 3 - 27, 2026

60 selected architecture firms from Kyoto and Cologne present their projects. The exhibition provides an insight into different design approaches and offers an overview of emerging trends in architecture in Japan and Germany.

Conference July 3, 2026 - 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Young architects from Kyoto and Cologne present their positions and discuss central themes of contemporary architecture across cultural boundaries.
Participation is free of charge.

Organizing team
The YAC Conference and exhibition are jointly organized by Prof. Dr. Dr. Hiroaki Kimura and Misaki Nakahata M.A. (Japan) as well as Prof. Jochen Siegemund, Dipl.-Ing. Susanne Kohte and Dr. Frédéric Schnee (Germany).

𝗞𝗼𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 / 𝗨𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝘂̈𝘁𝘇𝘂𝗻𝗴

TH Köln, Kyoto Institute of Technology, City of Cologne, Bund Deutscher Architektinnen und Architekten, Deutsch-Japanische Gesellschaft e.V. Köln, The Museum of Kyoto, Mitsubishi UFJ Foundation, Bangkok University, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi