On the first day of Milan Design Week, Domus explores a selection of incredibly diverse locations. Observe the unsettling catalogs of prison furniture in Prison Times at the Dropcity-connected warehouses, then unwind in the avant-garde luxury of Giuseppe Porcelli’s first furniture collection, displayed in the domestic setting of his own home. Explore noble palaces, such as the Poldi Pezzoli Museum, set up by Molteni with Letters to Milan, the installation by Studio Klass dedicated to Milanese architecture, and then head toward the former industrial suburbs, where the Rodolfo Ferrari Foundation hosts the third edition of Labò, a rich “container” dedicated to innovation at the intersection of art and design, formal and scientific research.

We venture even further to the former SNIA site in Varedo, the latest discovery by Alcova, which grows (and faces growing controversy) every year. We return to the city center at Palazzo Litta, a more classical and traditional venue, hosting “Migrations,” the latest iteration of MoscaPartners Variations. Not far away, in the monumental and highly versatile courtyard of the Senate building, you can be mesmerized by Juliana Lima Vasconcellos’ totemic installation for Lavazza, Source of Pleasure. Could a great Italian design maestro be missing? The day ends with Ettore Sottsass at the Refin showroom.

If you’re still unsure whether design can truly be everywhere, Alcova will convince you. For its second year in Brianza, Alcova has set up its headquarters in Varedo. Alongside Villa Borsani and Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, this edition brings the most experimental and innovative designs to two unprecedented sites: the Serre di Pasino, once home to one of Europe’s largest white orchid plantations, and the abandoned former viscose production center, now an industrial ruin, where ivy and trees have overrun the large windows and infiltrated the reinforced concrete interiors.

In this building – set to undergo major redevelopment starting this year – design meets nature and an abundance of natural light. Among the many featured installations, Warm Weekend has designed nomadic micro-architectures to turn the rituals of showering and bathing into a public act, as seen in some cultures. Spread narrates the textures of nature by folding large, colorful sheets, while Ranieri works with massive blocks of lava stone. Habitare Materials has set up a material library, where curiosity can guide you to choose, touch, and combine materials, and assemble moodboards; the most observant will spot a tile made from Christmas tree shavings dyed with blueberry juice.

Against the backdrop of contemporary divides, Palazzo Litta offers a broad world, with debuts like Fico, a Bangladeshi company with local roots on the global stage, and Tactile Baltics, an exploration of materials from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The invitation is to return to perceiving our bodies in space. In the main courtyard, Korean architect Byoung Soo Cho’s installation “Nobody Owns the Land” invites us to lie down on the floor. Then, there are bodies interacting with complex, handcrafted structures, such as in “Design is Courage” by the Politecnico di Milano School of Design, and bodies that shape space by coming together, like the blind people who co-designed the new Adrenalina sofa with Debonademeo. Finally, the Japanese studio Honoka transforms water bottles into a material with great figurative potential.

In Dropcity’s Connected Warehouses, Prison Times unveils an aspect of prisons we don’t usually consider: design.

Five thematic tunnels represent key moments in a prisoner’s life, depicted through significant furnishings: the beds, symbolizing sleep and time in the cell, designed according to the “danger” of the inmate; welded-together chairs and tables to prevent them from being used as weapons; the cleaning process with metal sinks and toilets; the video surveillance and waiting rooms with different types of seating, such as one that shifts the center of gravity to make standing up more difficult. Finally, the brightly colored cell doors are arranged in a row, defying conventional perceptions.

The setting feels sterile, as though it were a showroom for prison furnishings.

Hands, horses, and bears – Etruscan objects, all made of metal. Vases and candleholders that seem to come from a timeless place. You can admire them in the Hall of Arms at the Poldi Pezzoli Museum, across from the new Molteni building by Van Duysen. This collection, designed by Gio Ponti, marks a new chapter in the brand’s collaboration with the Ponti heirs and the Domus archive. It’s a collection reborn for mass production, presented here for the first time. Protagonists of a new homescape, suggests Molteni.

Elisa Ossino’s installation is delicate and inviting. At Poldi Pezzoli, the new collection is displayed in the beautiful orangery with a view of the inner garden, and a tower installation in the entrance courtyard celebrates modern Milan through architecture, design, and writing. All encapsulated in a quote by Aldo Nove: “Hai voglia a scrivere Milano, Milano. Hai voglia a dire Milano Milano” (You can write Milan, Milan. You can say Milan, Milan).

Located in Via Melone, a narrow alley between two buildings in Brera, near the Accademia, this space was renovated in the '90s by Ettore Sottsass. The large polychrome marble fireplace is an important legacy of the Memphis master. Today, this space serves as the showroom for Refin, a ceramics company that is heavily investing in art.

This year, Refin collaborates with Austrian artist Oliver Laric, who is equally at home in the digital and material worlds. His Metamorphoses were inspired by a visit to Refin’s factories and the changing nature of materials. The project includes a series of sculptures and a video, projected in the room with the iconic fireplace.

Coffee design in the new millennium can be summed up by one pervasive element: the capsule. Lavazza reinvents it as a unit resembling a biscuit, made entirely of coffee. It uses no plastic or aluminum, and the 100% coffee capsule disappears after use, leaving no waste.

Juliana Lima Vasconcellos’ installation in the courtyard of Palazzo Senato transforms the coffee narrative. Coffee here becomes perfume, water, and vegetation, taking the form of a heart at the center of a labyrinth, where the dark is protective, enveloping, and refreshing. At the end, in a very bright space, the new Tabli coffee machine – so high-tech it can be controlled via smartphone – awaits.

In its third edition, Labò is an exhibition project curated by the French duo The Design Blender at the Rodolfo Ferrari Foundation, a former pharmaceutical company. Over 35 exhibitors, including independent designers, artists, furniture brands, and publishers, explore “the role of design as a driving force of transformation and research, intertwining method and intuition, rigor and experimentation.”

Labò impresses with the variety of projects selected, ranging from speculative installations to classic product design. A standout is a 1:1 scale reproduction of a Star Home, a house designed by the multidisciplinary team led by Ingvartsen Architects, aimed at reducing malaria and other respiratory diseases in rural Tanzania. The project (or better half of it), involving 110 units built and monitored by doctors and scientists, is showcased at Milan Design Week.

Imagine an apartment on the first floor of a beautiful building in the Città Studi area, a few steps from the Politecnico. The owner, Giuseppe Porcelli, has restored it to its original design. Here, he has created an entrance vestibule and bedroom to present his furniture line. The inspiration is a garconnière – what we might call “the stable,” the quintessential sexual space for an adult male. But this is a gay-rconnière – Porcelli’s twist on the narrative. After all, we’re in Milan – did you expect anything different?

The space is filled with artworks, books, and thoughtful design. Everything feels perfectly placed, though it remains deeply personal – perhaps the Anish Kapoor book stands out a bit. A small detail, but with infinite care. The fabrics are by Fortuny, and the artwork by Alex Foxton, from the Parisian Galerie Derouillon. This is a must-see exhibition, by appointment only.

Opening image: Alcova 2025, interior of the former SNIA Factory. Photo Luca Ronzoni