Inaugurated during the initial days of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics – fittingly with the exhibition “Milan Cortina, Round Trip: 1956–2026”, dedicated to the urban installation created by Albini, Helg, and Albe Steiner for the 1956 Cortina Winter Olympics – this new space now hosts both the Franco Albini Foundation and Studio Albini Associati. Within Spazio Albini, the Franco Albini Foundation will continue its research activities focusing on the work of Franco Albini and Franca Helg, organize guided tours, and offer access to its Archive. This Archive, recognized as national historical heritage and preserved thanks to the support of Cassina, Codice Icona, and Salone del Mobile.Milano, comprises 22,000 drawings, over 6,000 photographs, 2,500 slides, models, writings, letters, technical reports, historical books, and magazines.
Initiatives for the City of Milan (and the World)
On 12 March, at Spazio Messina, Fabbrica del Vapore in Milan, Cerchi di pace (Circles of Peace) will be inaugurated, a project conceived and promoted by the Franco Albini Foundation and Studio Albini Associati, created in collaboration with Barone Italia and with the artistic contribution of Marco Gallotta. The new version of the totem, which was originally made of ice, can be rigorously dismantled according to the “Albini Method” (i.e. dismantle, seek the essence and reassemble in a new form).
Cerchi di Pace, 1956, Franco Albini, Franca Helg & Albe Steiner
Render dell’installazione “Cerchi di pace”, che reinterpreta il totem per Cortina 1956
This manifesto-artwork aims to collect messages of peace, launching a digital campaign that will complement the physical tour of the artwork with a participatory virtual tour featuring the “Circles of Peace” Totem symbolically placed in locations around the world. Produced in co-production with Fabbrica del Vapore, with the patronage of the Municipality of Milan and the support of Rinascente, the project will also involve the School of Design at Politecnico di Milano. Students, guided by Ico Migliore (Migliore+Servetto), will create 50 models of the Olympic Totem using various materials, which will enrich the exhibition.
«Starting anew with these projects, in a headquarters that already feels like ‘home’ – so beautiful, bright, and full of new possibilities – fills us with enthusiasm: a new energy that strengthens our motivation and renews our desire to transform the past into an inexhaustible source of inspiration for contemporary times», emphasizes Paola Albini, President of the Foundation. Throughout February, several events are scheduled, including thematic tours focusing on Franca Helg, guided exhibition tours, and on February 26th (7-9 PM), the first meeting of the Silent Book Club, designed to «rediscover spaces for silence, reading, and concentration in the technological era». Future events will also include performances and open days for co-working and consulting the archive library, aiming to stimulate moments of networking, discussion, and dialogue on architecture and Design.
Photo credits: Ilaria Falciola
