Villa Bagatti Valsecchi. Photography: Piergiorgio Sorgetti
Independent design platform Alcova takes over two historic villas in the city for its Design Week showcase, presenting contemporary furniture within the storied confines of Varedo’s Villa Borsani and Villa Bagatti Valsecchi from 15-21 April 2024.
Designed by architect and Tecno furniture founder Osvaldo Borsani as his family home, Villa Borsani is considered one of Milan‘s finest modernist residences, built on the city’s outskirts between 1939 and 1945. Similarly, Villa Bagatti Valsecchi has an exceptional pedigree and was originally the summer retreat of the wealthy Bagatti Valsecchi family, dating from the 19th century.
The two buildings are a short five-minute stroll from each other. Villa Bagatti Valsecchi is the main host, and its interiors are staged with Maniera’s showcase of Junya Ishigami furniture. The Japanese architect – who designed the 2019 Serpentine Gallery, Cloud Garden, and recently, a one-kilometre-long museum that emerges from a lake – is known for his experimental approach to design and materials and the site-specific nature of his work. Ishigami’s furniture takes on a new bent within the opulent context of the Milanese property.
Aside from Ishigami’s pieces, there’s much to be discovered.
Alcova was founded by Valentina Ciuffi (Studio Vedèt) and Joseph Grima (Space Caviar) and launched in 2018. This year, over 70 studios, designers and manufacturers are participating in the showcase, with new collaborations by Objects of Common Interest (Public Project), Kiki Goti, cc-tapis, Calico Wallpaper, Colin King, MMR STUDIO, to name a few.
‘[We] invite the public into an almost surreal microcosm; a historically relevant context in which to gather to imagine the future of design through installations, performances and collective moments,’ says Alcova.
Alcova 2024 runs from 15 -21 April 2024 at Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 48, 20814 Varedo MB, Italy and Villa Borsani (Via Umberto I, 148, 20814 Varedo MB).
