We are excited to share a brief overview of Amorpha Urban Architecture School‘s rich and dynamic Training Programme—the first half of AUAS2026 by Amorpha Youth Foundation.

Amorpha Urban Architecture School 2026 is a 6-week international summer programme bringing together young architects, students and professionals from across Europe and beyond. AUAS’26 is organised by Amorpha Youth Foundation in partnership with Fundació Mies van der Rohe—Barcelona, the Union of Bulgarian Architects – Varna Chapter and Goethe-Institut Bulgarien. Collaborators on the programme: University Botanic Garden Ecopark—Varna, Varna Design Forum, Varna Heritage / Immovable Cultural Heritage, and Varna Free Universtity—Faculty of Architecture . AUAS’26 is co-funded by Varna Municipality Culture Fund.

The 5-week Training Programme welcomed talented 20+ young people aged 16-29 years selected with an open call. Among them are professional (vocational) secondary school and language school students from Varna, university students in architecture and design as well as recent graduates from universities in Varna, Sofia, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. During their training, they had the opportunity to learn from and work side by side with AUAS lead trainers, guest lecturers and – as mentors – AUAS’24 alumni currently studying architecture in Milano, Munich, Seoul, Sofia, Varna and Vienna.

Exploring 3 strategically located public sites, a Training Programme under eight trainers and mentors with 5 thematic guest-lecturers in their training programme and other guests, working on-site with two international lecturers and experiencing a Closing Programme with 33 guest-speakers, 21 out of 25 trainees successfully completed Amorpha Urban Architecture School. Closing Programme also showcased the final group interventions in public space by our trainees.

The grand finale of AUAS’26 Amorpha Urban Architecture School of its 6-week programme bridged the Training and Closing Programmes. Our trainees, team and guests experienced 7 unforgettable days as the culmination of learning, practicing, sharing, designing, building, displaying and opening to the public.

• Orientation and ongoing training by arch. Monika Marinova – director of AUAS by Amorpha Foundation and winner of EUmies Awards Young Talent 2020 and Maria Badjakova – director of Amorpha Foundation.

• Intervention workshop by arch. Andreas Stanzel (Germany – Switzerland) – winner of EUmies Awards Young Talent 2025 with financial support by Goethe-Institut Bulgaria.

• Networking and feedback to trainee interventions by AUAS guests arch. Ivan Blasi (Spain – Catalonia) – director of EU Prize for Architecture at Fundació Mies van der Rohe, arch. Georgios Thalassinos – winner of EUmies Awards Young Talent 2025, arch. loanna Karampetsou.

• Guided tour of Varna Free University – Faculty of Architecture by vice-dean associate professor arch. Plamen Petrov and lecturer arch. Georgi Bachev – two-time nominee for the EU Prize for Architecture for architecture sites in Varna, Bulgaria. Both were also speakers in the Closing Programme.

• Setting up the EUmies Awards Exhibition at the House of Architects in Varna at the House of Architects in Varna.

• Four intense days of presentations by 33 speakers, public lecture, exhibition opening, city walks and most importantly – the final results of on-site INTERVENTION OPENINGS in public space in Varna by our three trainee teams: 1) Cross-section of Kozlodui Str and Debar Str 2) Krali Marko Str – Houses of Writers, Painters, Matrimony 3) Underpass at the Cathedral and Public Market ‘Chasovnika’

AUAS’26 received much valued support and recognition from the Professional School of Building, Architecture and Geodesy „Vasil Levski“—Varna and the Professional School of Forestry and Wood „Nikolay Haitov“.

AUAS’26 organising team: arch. Monika Marinova —director of AUAS, Maria Maria Badjakova—director of Amorpha Foundation with AYF programme coordinators arch. Tsvetan Tsvetanov and Ninko Pavlovich — AYF alumni, alongside AUAS’24, Amorpha Academy / Amorpha alumni.

Photographers: Alexander Lazarov, Kremena Kalcheva.