Albini in Present Tense – Alcova 2026

Franco Albini makes his principles of relational transparency explicit in his project for Villa Pestarini. Its open plan is not merely a modern gesture but a tool for establishing tensions between space, light and objects, before bringing them back to the scale of the single room – complete and articulated. Nothing is isolated; everything is in dialogue.
From this principle, the installation curated by Patricia Urquiola in collaboration with Haworth and Cassina, takes shape in a concept that does not add a narrative but works through subtraction instead.
At the centre of the villa, a large island is created with the Mokoro rugs by Cassina which act not as a surface but a spatial device. Its pattern reinterprets the modular rhythm of the large glass-block window, redesigned by Albini in the post-war period, returning light, filter and structure, like a photographic negative.
A vital part of the set-up is Albini’s furniture, faithfully reissued by Cassina in collaboration with the Fondazione Franco Albini. A previously unseen armchair (1947), developed specifically for this installation, is presented alongside the Canapo chaise-longue rocking chair (1959), now part of the Cassina Historical Archive, the Luisa chair (Compasso d’Oro prize, 1955), the Tre Pezzi armchair, the Infinito bookshelf (1956-1957), the Cavalletto desk (1950) and the Cicognino side table (1953), in upholstery and finishes selected by Patricia Urquiola and arranged to create an extended domesticity within the space.

The atmosphere of a lived-in, present-day home is enriched by a selection of contemporary pieces from Alcova Shop, including, among others, works by Maria Tyakina x Agglomerati, Giovanni de Francesco and Marta Pierobon, Polcha, Clara Schweers, and Sema Topaloğlu, alongside artworks by Atelier dell’Errore, establishing a layered dialogue between historical references and contemporary design practices.
The installation features a special panel courtesy of Slalom.