From April 20 to 26, 2026, Alcova returns to Milan for its eleventh edition, continuing its exploration of design through architecture, memory, and experimentation. Over 120 international exhibitors, including established companies, independent designers, and leading design schools, this year are distributed between Villa Pestarini and the vast complex of the Baggio Military Hospital. Two radically different contexts, the former an extraordinary example of mid-20th-century Rationalist architecture, the latter a complex and layered institutional compound, become the setting for an edition that moves between rediscovery and experimentation, research and contemporary material culture.

For the first time, Alcova opens Villa Pestarini to the public, the only private residence in Milan designed by Franco Albini. A manifesto of mid-20th-century Italian Rationalism, where proportions, light, and materials construct an idea of living that remains strikingly contemporary. Here, designers are invited to engage directly with Albini’s legacy, activating it in the present.

Within this setting, Haworth and Cassina present an installation by Patricia Urquiola that reinterprets the entrance and living areas. The project draws from icons such as the Veliero bookcase and the Poltrona Luisa, reread in dialogue with key architectural elements, from the historic glass wall to the spatial layout, to evoke the atmosphere of a contemporary home, lived-in and layered. The reflection on modernism continues with a project dedicated to the work of Luisa Castiglioni, who began her career as Albini’s assistant before developing an independent path. Through Boccamonte, an initiative based in Liguria, in one of the houses designed by Castiglioni in the 1950s, her work is reinterpreted and placed within a broader narrative of Italian modernism.

Surrounding this historical core are contemporary voices. Greek architect and designer Kiki Goti presents a collection of marble furniture and lighting produced by Marble Sachanas, in dialogue with Saridis of Athens, envisioning a workspace filtered through Greek cultural heritage. Paris-based textile maison Issé debuts its first collaboration with architect and designer Sophie Dries, exploring the spatial potential of raw plant fibers. Japanese collective AtMa Inc transforms waste materials into a furniture system where the joint becomes both structural and narrative element, while Around the Studio, from Tbilisi, reinterprets Georgian vernacular materials through the lens of contemporary design.

At the Baggio Military Hospital, the scale shifts dramatically. The former complex takes shape as a true “city within the city,” composed of streets, courtyards, and service buildings that host a constellation of site-specific installations. International schools occupy and activate various areas of the site with projects that explore new ways of living and producing, combining material experimentation with alternative visions to contemporary habits. Making its debut at Alcova, the AA School of Architecture in London presents an experimental pavilion and a selection of works by alumni and students inside the Laundry, sharing the space with Umprum – Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. Design Academy Eindhoven animates the Kitchen, while Head – Genève occupies the Temple.

Material research continues through international studios (such as Pani Jurek Studio, Salak Studio, and Spanish studio Kilzi) and craft practices, focusing on light, color, ceramic, furniture, and objects. Between New York and Paris, Llewellyn Chupin presents scenographic objects in hand-patinated aluminum, silk, and pearls. Greek designer Natalia Triantafylli and London-based designer-maker Andrew Pierce Scott present a shared body of work spanning furniture, lighting, and sculptural objects.

The 2026 program is enriched by a series of returns. Center for Creativity presents House of Creatures, a new site-specific installation bringing together ten Slovenian design practices, including Soft Baroque, invited to reinterpret the Refectory of the Casa delle Suore. In the same building, Noritake Design Collection returns with new porcelain works, including Kiln, a sculptural collection by Faye Toogood.

The collaboration with Older, a Milan-based studio operating between fashion and product design, also continues, with a new pop-up in the Temple and the iconic uniforms for the Alcova staff. Mutina once again curates the food & beverage area with a sculptural counter clad in a tile collection designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, while the culinary offering is by Davide Longoni with creative consultancy by Alessandro Longhin.

ALCOVA 2026
April 20 – 26, 2026
Ospedale Militare di Baggio @ Via Giovanni Labus 10
Villa Pestarini @ Via Mogadiscio 2/4

Photo: Issé, Sophie Dries