On the outskirts of the city’s northwest area, the decommissioned Necchi kitchen machine factory is being rekindled to flesh out an ambitious project: to replicate the success of the creative hub not far from Brussels, Zaventem Ateliers, and create a creative hub to host a community of artists and designers. The driving force behind the initiative is Lionel Jadot, who launched the Belgian project in 2019 and for this Milan debut brought together 16 of its Belgian residents and seven guests. The 3,000 square meters of exhibition space will not only be a place for exchange and sharing among designers, artists, collectors, architects, and aficionados, but also a theater for parties, art events, and performances (in collaboration with Belgium is Design). “It worked in Belgium,” Jadot says. “The right formula is to select exceptional creators who have the right spirit and energy to push the project far, as in Zaventem, which has been an accelerator for our small family, which has produced amazing new pieces, even large ones, thanks to the space available. Baranzate also has the potential to be put on the map of Milanese creativity.”
L.M.

With 90 well-assorted exhibitors spread across the four disused buildings and the large park of the former military hospital in Baggio, Alcova confirms itself as a must-see at this Design Week. Credit certainly goes to the careful curatorship of Joseph Grima and Valentina Ciuffi, but also to the balanced and composite combination of the offerings, which mix established companies and new brands, Italian and international designers, research projects and schools, high craftsmanship and experimental projects. In addition, there is a new building, the former psychiatric hospital, which alone is worth the trip. The common element that binds such diverse realities is, as Grima explains, the courageous attitude, as well as, of course, the multidisciplinary approach. This year, there will also be more focus on food, concentrated in the Temple space and the Food Court, which will remain open until 10 p.m. While the Cutoff bar will be enlivened by a program of performances and meetings throughout the week.
Elena Sommariva

“My company turns 100 years old this year. More than history, I am interested in the ability to always bring new ideas to contribute to the evolution of the domestic scene.” This is the spirit of Alberto Alessi, who then decided to crown the celebrations that began a year ago with the release of one unreleased object a month with a large interactive exhibition in Galleria Manzoni. Twelve rooms curated by AMDL Circle, a sort of cabinet de curiosité to look at and sometimes even interact with, tell the story of the first 100 years by stigmatizing them in as many values in a different way each time: reconstructing a room of the company, showing prototypes or pieces that never went into production, but also with a golden room to celebrate the Merdolino. The future, the 001 of the title, is an all-green room designed by Studio Temp to house giant versions of the new cutlery designed by Virgil Abloh: the choice of green is used to activate green-screen technology via an Instagram filter and to create images in which the digital and physical worlds merge. Nostalgics can still take refuge in the theater's foyer, where there is a selection of archival pieces from the period between the 1920s and 1960s that consecrated Alessi.
L.M.

The French brand returns to the pelota with four light installations in the shape of water towers, extremely light despite their large size, with a wooden structure wrapped in translucent colored paper.
On the occasion, the brand’s new home collection is presented, all dedicated to lightness, five objects in which cashmere, one of the maison's favorite materials, is the protagonist. 

On the bright high floor of the Herzog & de Meuron-designed building, the event organized by the Korea Craft and design Foundation showcases, with an evocative and dreamlike installation, the foundations of the Earth, a craftsmanship inspired by nature that seeks to return to its simple beauty. The value of high-quality craftsmanship using natural materials then becomes concrete matter in the works of three Italian designers-Michede De Lucchi, Francesco Faccin, and Mario Trimarchi-chosen for their approach to design, who identified a technique and worked in collaboration with a Korean craftsman. De Lucchi the chose wood and lacquer for his stitched sculptures, Trimarchi bronze for his sculptures. Faccin decided on weaving to make two lamps-his Pepe completely covered with colored fibers-and a hat inspired by the traditional gat of Korean monks (originally made of horsehair) but here decomposable into its two parts and usable as a fruit holder and container. The fibers are in two colors, differentiating interior and exterior; a carabiner, pencil or any natural element that is at hand can be used to attach the two parts. At the end of the exhibition, the three designers' objects will be auctioned off.
L.M.