Discover Andrea Branzi through the eyes of his friend, Toyo Ito, at a major new exhibition

Until 4 October 2026, Triennale Milano and the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain present ‘Andrea Branzi by Toyo Ito: Continuous Present’ – a major monographic exhibition dedicated to one of the most influential figures in postwar design.

Conceived by Pritzker award-winning Japanese architect Toyo Ito in collaboration with Lorenza Branzi and Nicoletta Morozzi and curated by Nina Bassoli (Triennale Milano) and Michela Alessandrini (Fondation Cartier), the exhibition takes an intentionally personal perspective. Rather than a conventional retrospective, it offers a reading of Andrea Branzi’s work through the lens of a close friend, collaborator and contemporary.

That perspective shapes the exhibition from the outset. Designed by Ito as a fluid, continuous environment, the layout resists linear chronology in favour of what Branzi described as a ‘continuous present’ – a state in which past, present and future coexist. The result is an unbroken spatial narrative, where ideas unfold gradually rather than being fixed in time.

Across more than 400 works, including models, objects, environmental installations, archive films and documents, the exhibition traces the breadth of Branzi’s practice. From his radical beginnings with ‘Archizoom Associati’ and the speculative vision of ‘No-Stop City’, to later explorations such as ‘Animal Domestici’ and his long-standing engagement with Japanese culture, the show maps a body of work that consistently challenged the boundaries of design.

The exhibition is structured as an 11-part ‘archipelago’ with each section exploring a distinct aspect of Branzi’s thinking. Moving between them, visitors encounter shifts in scale, discipline and intent – from architecture and urbanism to product design and theory – revealing a practice defined less by category than by inquiry.

Throughout, Branzi’s anthropological approach to design comes into focus. His work positioned design not simply as formal or functional exercise but as a cultural act, one deeply embedded in social, environmental and symbolic systems. That position feels particularly resonant today as design continues to expand beyond traditional definitions.

The collaboration between Triennale Milano and Fondation Cartier reflects a shared commitment to advancing contemporary discourse through exhibitions that bridge disciplines and geographies. Here, that dialogue is embodied not only in Branzi’s work but in Ito’s interpretation of it, an exchange between two architects whose practices have shaped global design culture in distinct yet overlapping ways.

Accompanying the exhibition is a comprehensive publication, co-published by Electa, Triennale Milano and Fondation Cartier, featuring essays and contributions from more than 50 international voices. A public programme runs throughout the exhibition’s duration, and began with a lecture by Toyo Ito.

Set within Triennale Milano’s spaces, the exhibition unfolds as both tribute and exploration. It honours Branzi’s legacy while opening new ways of understanding it – not as a fixed body of work but as an evolving framework of ideas.

In this sense, ‘Continuous Present’ is less a retrospective than a proposition: that design, at its most vital, exists in a constant state of becoming.

triennale.org

fondationcartier.com