Alcova returns to Varedo for the second consecutive year with its ninth edition, reaffirming its role as a creative catalyst during Milan Design Week. Alcova remains an immersive experience that transforms forgotten places into living stages, where design interacts with decaying architecture, unruly nature, and contemporary visions across Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, Villa Borsani, the former SNIA factory, and the Pasino Glasshouses. Let’s dive into some key highlights.

Four Locations, One Common Thread: Reinventing Design

This year, Alcova expands—literally—in four directions: in addition to the well-known Villa Borsani and Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, two new destinations join the scene — the former SNIA factory and the enchanting Pasino Glasshouses. Each space is a world of its own, with a distinct identity and a clear visual narrative, where site-specific and collective installations create an eclectic, almost cinematic journey.

The Pasino Glasshouses, once home to a massive white orchid cultivation, now host entities like AVAU, Greek Marble x Objects of Common Interest, Terraformæ, and Terzofoco Ceramics. Here, nature steps into the spotlight as a co-protagonist—among broken glass, wild plants, and design that breathes within this structure.

At the former SNIA factory, rationalist architecture and industrial ruins become the backdrop for an unprecedented dialogue between decay and regeneration. Notable presences include Burg Giebichenstein University, Decibel x Vizcom, and SPREAD.

The neoclassical poetry of the evocative Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, the focal point of this Alcova edition, comes alive thanks to over 60 international exhibitors: from Bohinc Studio to Guatemala Diseña, from Forma Rosa Studio to The New Raw — every room becomes a carefully curated universe.

The journey ends with the elegant modernism of Villa Borsani, temporarily home to cutting-edge projects by Atelier dell’Errore, Estudio Material, Ryuichi Kozeki, and Supaform — in a powerful dialogue with the rationalist architecture of the 1940s.

The public program this year is curated by Design Academy Eindhoven in collaboration with KALDEWEI and is titled “Are We Going in Circles?” — a deep and provocative reflection on circularity in contemporary design.

Installation view ph. cortesy Lorenzo Capelli | DSL Studio