Aldo Rossi’s ‘Cabina dell’Elba‘, part beach hut, part wardrobe, is celebrated in Milan
Antonia Jannone presents ‘Aldo Rossi. La Cabina dell'Elba’ (until 29 December 2022), exploring the architect’s take on the beach hut as furniture

The ‘Cabina Dell'Elba’, created in 1982 by the Italian architect and designer Aldo Rossi is an ode to fleeting time and freedom. Reminding us of summer, the beach hut-inspired wardrobe is simple and universal, resonating with Rossi’s vision of designing an interior space that harmoniously coexists with the outside.
‘They appeared to me as a minimal dimension of living, an impression of summer,’ wrote Rossi in his Autobiografia Scientifica. ‘I had simply noticed the peculiarity and universality of the huts on the beaches. Not only on Elba. But seeing is not enough: you have to watch till you take possession of the image and through the image of the thing.’ Taking ownership of the beach hut as an image, but more importantly as an object, absorbing it and repurposing it, Rossi’s ‘Cabina’ shifts from a temporary item into an enduring one, inhabiting our homes.
After 40 years since its creation, Milanese gallery Antonia Jannone Disegni di Architettura presents ‘Aldo Rossi. Cabina dell'Elba’, an exhibition entirely dedicated to the transient yet lasting beach hut/domestic wardrobe (mine is blue and pink, and works as a food storage cupboard in the kitchen).
Rossi’s drawings and studies of the ‘Cabina dell’Elba’ will be accompanied by an edition of nine miniature cabins especially made for the show and reproduced according to the study model made by Bruno Longoni furniture atelier, which produced the wardrobes, together with Rossi. ‘It is always a great emotion for me to deal with the work of Aldo Rossi. I feel a strong connection to the “Cabina dell'Elba” project, because I had the opportunity to meet Aldo on the island [of Elba]. Rossi is a unique, interesting and very communicative designer,’ says the gallerist Antonia Jannone. ‘I hope with my re-editions to come just a little closer to the beauty he was capable of.’
‘Aldo Rossi. La Cabina dell'Elba’ is on view until 29 December 2022 at Antonia Janonne Disegni di Architettura
Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi, 125
Milan
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Maria Cristina Didero is an independent design curator, consultant and author, who has contributed to many publications over the years. Didero has consulted for companies such as Vitra, Fritz Hansen, Lexus, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Valextra among others. Based in Milan, she works internationally, curating exhibitions for institutions: some of her most recent projects include Nendo: The Space in Between and The Conversation Show at the Holon Design Museum, Israel; FUN HOUSE by Snarkitecture at National Building Museum, Washington D.C.; SuperDesign a project about Italian radical design, NY; Vegan Design, or the Art of Reduction by Erez Nevi and The Fish and The Crowd by Carlo Massoud, Milan. In April 2022 she curated a Mathieu Lehanneur exhibition at the Triennale in Milan called The Inventory of Life, while in July she debuted a project at the MK&G in Hamburg titled Ask Me if I Believe in the Future, alongside a series of ongoing collaborations. She was appointed 2022 Curatorial Director of Design Miami/. She is currently preparing two projects for Milan Design Week 2023.
-
The great American museum boom
Nine of the world’s top ten most expensive, recently announced cultural projects are in the US. What is driving this investment, and is this statistic sustainable?
-
Here’s how Heathrow is reimagining airport chaos as ambient music
Grammy-nominated Jordan Rakei turns travel noise into a meditative soundtrack by sampling everything from baggage belts to jet engines
-
Wallpaper* checks into Gansevoort Meatpacking, an art-filled hotel that mirrors the district’s glow-up
This sharp, stylish New York hotel is a fixture in its neighbourhood, where boutiques, restaurants and clubs have long since taken over spaces once occupied by slaughterhouses
-
Dine within a rationalist design gem at the newly opened Cucina Triennale
Cucina Triennale is the latest space to open at Triennale Milano, a restaurant and a café by Luca Cipelletti and Unifor, inspired by the building's 1930s design
-
20 emerging designers shine in our ‘Material Alchemists’ film
Wallpaper’s ‘Material Alchemists’ exhibition during Milan Design Week 2025 spotlighted 20 emerging designers with a passion for transforming matter – see it now in our short film
-
Tokyo design studio We+ transforms microalgae into colours
Could microalgae be the sustainable pigment of the future? A Japanese research project investigates
-
Delvis (Un)Limited turns a Brera shopfront into a live-in design installation
What happens when collectible design becomes part of a live performance? The Theatre of Things, curated by Joseph Grima and Valentina Ciuffi, invited designers to live with their work – and let the public look in
-
Naoto Fukasawa sparks children’s imaginations with play sculptures
The Japanese designer creates an intuitive series of bold play sculptures, designed to spark children’s desire to play without thinking
-
Inside the Shakti Design Residency, taking Indian craftsmanship to Alcova 2025
The new initiative pairs emerging talents with some of India’s most prestigious ateliers, resulting in intricately crafted designs, as seen at Alcova 2025 in Milan
-
Faye Toogood comes up roses at Milan Design Week 2025
Japanese ceramics specialist Noritake’s design collection blossoms with a bold floral series by Faye Toogood
-
6:AM create a spellbinding Murano glass showcase in Milan’s abandoned public shower stalls
With its first solo exhibition, ‘Two-Fold Silence’, 6:AM unveils an enchanting Murano glass installation beneath Piscina Cozzi