Inside Alcova 2023, Where Milan Design Week Peaked
Copy provided by Alcova
From 17 to 23 April 2023, Alcova brought to life the monumental venue of the Ex-Macello di Porta Vittoria with projects by over 90 designers, exploring a different and complementary direction of contemporary design practice.
In what has become something of an annual ritual, for the fifth time a magical corner of Milan never before accessible to the public opened its doors for the first time in its history, resonating with people, objects and ideas, and offering a diverse and incisive snapshot of the international design scene today.
Alcova 2023 connected the international design community with that of the city, welcoming a diverse audience of over 90,000 people throughout the week and demonstrating once again the cultural power of design and its ability to revive the memory and identity of a place.
Among this year’s new features, Alcova Project Space, an exhibition within the overall exhibition, offered an insight into the research of the founders and curators of Alcova on the world of contemporary design: it featured the projects of 12 designers selected for their languages and content that resonates with the spirit of our times.
For the first time, Alcova also had a concept store activated in collaboration with OLDER which, in addition to the uniforms and collectibles of the Milanese duo, presented a series of designed objects developed specifically for this edition.
In addition to the programme of talks and lectures that developed over the course of the week to explore some of the themes of this edition, Alcova offered moments of conviviality and meetings thanks to the food court and two bars designed specifically to activate some of the most beautiful corners of the Ex-Macello.
Designed by Space Caviar, the Materials Bar — presented in collaboration with Nemo Architects/Habitarematerials - and the Bar Galleria — with the participation of the Canadian lighting brand A-N-D - were curated by the food masters of the Tuorlo Magazine team.
The visual identity of the project, designed by Studio Vedèt since the outset, overlapped two new colours onto the majestic spaces of the Ex-Macello di Porta Vittoria, guiding the visitors through the experience of this extraordinary fifth edition of Alcova.
