PREVIEW – MILAN DESIGN WEEK 2026
Vis-à-vis
From 20 to 26 April 2026, Alcova will return to Milan, drawing on two locations that have largely remained outside the public eye until now. At the Baggio Military Hospital, a building complex in the Primaticcio district designed during the interwar period, additional areas will be opened for the first time, including a church with a former rectory and a historical archive.
The location has been part of the format in previous years, but this time with a different focus: access to additional rooms allows for a differentiated view of the structure and history of the area.
The second venue is Franco Albini's Villa Pestarini, a residential building dating from 1938 to 1939, which has been privately used until now. The building is considered a striking example of Italian rationalism and is characterised by clear geometric forms, glass block elements and large openings to the garden. Numerous original components and built-in furniture have been preserved, allowing the architect's design approach to remain comprehensible in its extraordinary coherence.
The juxtaposition of these two locations – a historic health complex and a rarely accessible architectural experiment of modernism – opens up different perspectives on urban development, historical continuities and architectural signatures. This creates an environment in which contemporary design practices interact with the spatial and historical conditions of both locations.
Alcova Milano 2026
20 to 26 April 2026
Baggio Military Hospital Complex
Via Giovanni Labus, 10, 20147 Milan
Villa Pestarini
Via Mogadiscio, 2/4, 20146 Milan
