As with past Milan Design Week exhibitions, Alcova is taking over distinct spaces to unite art, design, and technology from more than 130 exhibitors at all stages of their careers. This year, Alcova lures guests with two very different sites: the abandoned Baggio Military Hospital and the rarely open Villa Pestarini.

Courtesy of Alcova

Part of the Alcova philosophy is to take over “unconventional and historically rich locations” in order to display multidisciplinary creative work in dialogue with unique surroundings. And this is why so many visitors have come to love the Alcova installations at Milan Design Week: it’s a perfect escape from crowded Salone booths, manicured furniture showrooms, and pristine art galleries.

This year, Alcova’s theme harnesses the power of the rational and the abandoned: “Two radically different contexts—the former an expression of mid-20th-century Rationalism, the latter a vast, layered institutional complex—set the stage for an edition that moves between rediscovery and experimentation, research and contemporary material culture.”

Patricia Urquiola, Haworth, and Cassina at Villa Pestarini

At Villa Pestarini, Spanish designer extraordinaire Patricia Urquiola shifts perspective a bit by curating a show for Haworth in collaboration with Cassina. Focused on living spaces that promote ease, the exhibit peppers the Modernist home with furniture that pays attention to lines and forms—ideal for the only private residence in Milan created by rationalist architect Franco Albini.

Courtesy of Haworth

Wild Worlds at Baggio Military Hospital

At the abandoned Baggio Military Hospital grounds, which includes multiple buildings and a church, Alcova gathered the talents of many. Installations include Feast for Rats by masters students in interior architecture at HEAD – Genève, a table set for rats that includes suitable rodent foods, which is part of a larger project exploring human-animal interaction.

Courtesy of HEAD – Genève, drawing by Annie Bornet

The Brazilian designer Leo Lague reimagined the Baggio church with Devices for Connection. This exhibition presents Lague’s new work, which was developed in collaboration with researchers and communities to explore Brazilian materials.

Alcova at Milan Design Week is less about individual objects or brands and more about creating exploratory universes people can inhabit, interact with, and question.