Alcova Returns to the Miami River Inn

In the South River Drive Historic District of East Little Havana, the Miami River Inn will host the third edition of Alcova Miami this December 2-7. It’s the second iteration of the cross-disciplinary design platform, founded by Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima in Milan, within the verdant South Florida venue. More than 40 exhibitors will layer site-specific installations into the historic structures, as well as the encompassing outdoor space. And as with last year’s enlightening edition, it’s set to inspire.

The central exterior exhibition, “The Garden Game,” finds Alcova’s principal partner, Haworth, collaborating with acclaimed Milan-based architect and designer Patricia Urquiola on an outdoor gathering space. Featuring a painted check matrix underfoot, the oval courtyard has been transformed (in Alcova’s signature pink) into an active use space with Cassina’s Utrecht Chair and Cappellini’s Thinking Man’s Chair, surrounded by Haworth’s Cardigan Lounge chairs.

“I imagined the installation to have this energy—rhythm, color, people moving and coming close. The seats can shift and change, just like the encounters around them, nothing is fixed,” Urquiola says. A constellation of visual intrigue is found in the mansions around “The Garden Game.” From SoMad, the femme and queer-led New York art space, self-taught artist David Aliperti will present hand-built clay sculptures from his “Mother Tree” series in an installation set to evolve each day. Aliperti drew praise for his fantastical contributions from this series at Alcova Milan earlier this year.

Further, artist Patrick Tuttofuoco partnered with multidisciplinary Italian design house Pininfarina for an experiential pavilion titled “DUAL,” manufactured in collaboration with Alpha Additive. “‘DUAL’ embodies our belief that innovation emerges from the synergy of artistry and computation, leadership and participation, and vision and data,” Samuele Sordi, Pininfarina of America’s Chief Architect Officer, says. “Its material, process, and philosophy all point toward a more resilient and equitable design future.” It’s another example of Alcova’s diverse, compelling offering.