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“Be the project” is the theme selected for Fuorisalone 2026, a theme expressing two meanings. On the one hand, people as active agents of change, with visions, desires and responsibilities; on the other, the project, design as a constantly evolving process that shapes and redesigns relationships between people, objects and environments.

Alcova at Milan Design Week 2026

The theme ‘Be the project’ is also an invitation to recognise ourselves in the process of becoming. In a period in which everything is changing very rapidly, we design because we need it; designing is necessary to affirm our existence. Design is research, the search for meaning in existence: especially in these times of Artificial Intelligence, design is an affirmation of the person. Through design, we can imagine a more sustainable and conscious future.

Milan Design Week reaffirms the centrality of design as a collective event that every year reshapes the whole city of Milan. And moreover, every year, Milan Design Week brings forgotten parts of the city back to life, giving them a new lease of life.

The new Superstudio Design

Milan Design Week 2026 will see the launch of Superstudio Design, the new format curated by Superstudio Events. In 2026, Superstudio Design will offer three locations in three different areas of Milan – Tortona, Barona and Bovisa – covering a total exhibition area of over 30,000 square metres. April 2026 will also see the debut of the new Superstudio Village in Bovisa.

Superstudio Più, the historic venue in the Tortona District, will continue to be the benchmark exhibition for international design. It will host large installations, independent pavilions and an internally curated project.

Superstudio Maxi, located in the Barona district, will explore the connection between design, art and architecture. It will serve as a platform for intercultural exchange and multidisciplinary creativity, opening up a part of the city still excluded from the Milan Design Week map.

Superstudio Village in Bovisa – new for 2026 – is the boldest step. Located in a revitalised industrial space near Parco La Goccia, it will focus on young designers, research studios and experimental projects, and will function as a real design village.

Discover more on Superstudio Design in 2026

Superstudio Village, new for Milan Design Week 2026

Alcova venues at Milan Design Week 2026

Another new feature for 2026 is the return of Alcova to Milan, with two venues in town. One of the two locations is a new area of the Baggio Military Hospital, where Alcova already exhibited at Fuorisalone 2021 and 2022. In 2026, Alcova will allow visitors to discover new areas of the large complex built after the First World War. These include a small church with a rectory and an old archive. A journey into the memory of a historic place, which has been abandoned over time and is now coming back to life as a temporary exhibition venue.

The rectory at Baggio Military Hospital, at Alcova Milan 2026, photo Piergiorgio Soretti, courtesy Alcova

Discover Alcova Miami 2025

The other location chosen by Alcova is a rationalist house. Designed by Franco Albini in 1938-39, it’s located in the west of Milan, on the ring road, in Piazza Tripoli, in a beautiful residential area. Villa Pestarini was the only villa designed in Milan by Franco Albini, and luckily it’s still almost in its original state, having only passed hands once. The space, which seems suspended in time, still retains its marble staircase, sliding partitions and custom-made furnishings. The villa’s spacious and bright rooms will therefore host the projects of Alcova’s exhibitors, leading to the discovery of a new “hidden gem” in Milan.

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