In UniFor's installation for Milano MuseoCity, art meets furniture

Milano MuseoCity: Unifor installation of La città degli oggetti: Aldo Rossi e Francesco Somaini — (Image credit: A. Saletta - DSL Studio)

Coinciding with the Winter Olympics, Milano MuseoCity is a cultural takeover where spaces including showrooms, shopfronts and galleries contribute to a city-wide museum installation. UniFor's Herzog & DeMeuron-designed space becomes the stage for a dialogue between Francesco Somaini’s 1970s sculptural works and Aldo Rossi's designs for UniFor.

Milano MuseoCity: Aldo Rossi and Francesco Somaini at UniFor

Milano Museo City: Unifor installation of La citt&agrave; degli oggetti: Aldo Rossi e Francesco Somaini

The visual curation of the exhibition – whose title translates to ‘The City of Objects: Aldo Rossi and Francesco Somaini’ – was entrusted to UniFor's long-term collaborator Studio Klass, a Milanese practice that excels at merging industrial design language with an art-led aesthetic.

'The exhibition unfolds across four rooms, conceived as small museum architectures: each hosts a pairing of sculpture and object and introduces a chromatic reference, a theme present in Aldo Rossi’s work for UniFor,' explain the studio.

In their installation, the works coexist within boldly hued boxes, large-scale vignettes where furniture and sculpture are placed in conversation. The architectural forms of Rossi's works, including the ‘Cartesio’ bookcase, ‘Consiglio’ table, ‘Parigi’ and ‘Museo’ chairs are combined with Somaini's work, which was often informed by that of Rossi.

'In 1970, Aldo Rossi had just published L’architettura della città (The Architecture of the City), a fundamental text that marked a turning point in the climate of urban culture: Somaini underlined its most emblematic expressions, such as “primary elements” and “urban artefacts”, which helped him to define the fields of action of his work,' explains Fulvio Irace, professor emeritus of Milan's Politecnico di Milano.

'Architecture drew his attention and shaped his reflections on how the sculptor should transform his mission into urban action: in other words, become an architect himself, yet using the plastic means of sculpture that sought to influence our perception of the city, its use, and its meaning as shared space.'

In this context, the exhibition becomes a stage for an interplay between imagined architectures: Rossi's furniture meets Somaini's evocative forms in a series of showcases that can be read as both miniature cities and domestic rooms.

'Through light, display elements and proportions, each environment establishes a direct dialogue between the two authors, offering an intimate and close reading of their visions of the city and tracing a unified path between art, design and architecture.'

'La città degli oggetti: Aldo Rossi e Francesco Somaini' is on view until 15 March 2026.

UniFor, Viale Pasubio, 15, 20154 Milano MI, Italy

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Rosa Bertoli was born in Udine, Italy, and now lives in London. Since 2014, she has been the Design Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees design content for the print and online editions, as well as special editorial projects. Through her role at Wallpaper*, she has written extensively about all areas of design. Rosa has been speaker and moderator for various design talks and conferences including London Craft Week, Maison & Objet, The Italian Cultural Institute (London), Clippings, Zaha Hadid Design, Kartell and Frieze Art Fair. Rosa has been on judging panels for the Chart Architecture Award, the Dutch Design Awards and the DesignGuild Marks. She has written for numerous English and Italian language publications, and worked as a content and communication consultant for fashion and design brands.