“Albini in Present Tense,” curated by Patricia Urquiola in collaboration with Haworth and Cassina, is presented at Alcova 2026 at Villa Pestarini, the residence designed by the architect between 1938 and 1939, one of the clearest expressions of Italian Rationalism, which opens its doors to the public for the first time.

Franco Albini made his principles of relational transparency explicit in the design for Villa Pestarini: its open plan is not merely a modern gesture, but a tool for establishing relationships between space, light, and objects, before bringing them back to the dimension of the individual room—complete and articulated. Nothing is isolated; everything is in dialogue.

From this, Patricia Urquiola curates an installation that works by subtraction, without superimposing any narrative. Albini’s furnishings, reissued exclusively by Cassina in collaboration with the Fondazione Franco Albini, find a perfect placement within this extended domestic space. These include a completely unpublished armchair from 1947, developed specifically for this installation, along with several special versions.

Through this initiative, Cassina once again confirms its commitment to promoting the culture of modern design, restoring renewed relevance to Albini’s works within an evocative context.

To learn more about the project, it is possible to visit, by appointment, the new headquarters of the Fondazione Franco Albini on via Saffi 27, Milan, where original pieces can be found together with Cassina’s faithful reissues.