As Miami Art Week 2025 unfolds, the city continues to cement its reputation as the American epicenter for cutting-edge design and architectural experimentation. This year, the sophomore arrival of Alcova, the influential Milan-based design platform, brings a strong; shift to the U.S. design landscape, echoing the transformative energy of Milan Design Week and signaling Miami’s emergence as its stateside counterpart.
At the heart of this transatlantic dialogue is Pininfarina’s DUAL pavilion, installed at Alcova Miami’s evocative venue, the historic Miami River Inn. Developed in collaboration with Alpha Additive, a leader in advanced additive manufacturing, DUAL is passing the boundaries of a sculptural intervention, it is a meditation on the convergence of intuition and computation, emotion and reason, art and science. Originally presented at ACADIA 2025 at FIU under the theme “Computing for Resilience,” the pavilion interrogates the long-standing divisions between these forces, proposing instead that true innovation and resilience arise from their integration.
Alcova’s decision to expand its curatorial reach from Milan to Miami is both symbolic and strategic. In recent years, Miami Art Week has evolved into a crossroads for global creative communities, mirroring the role Milan Design Week plays in Europe. The city’s layered cultural history, tropical vibrancy, and growing design infrastructure make it a fertile ground for the kind of experimental, site-specific installations that Alcova champions. This migration of Milan’s design ethos to Miami not only elevates the city’s profile but also offers U.S. audiences access to a level of curatorial rigor and international dialogue rarely seen outside Europe.
Pininfarina’s DUAL pavilion is perfectly attuned to this moment. Its aerodynamic, monocoque exterior, seemingly shaped by hand, contrasts with a parametric, algorithmically driven interior, inviting visitors to experience the tension and harmony between artistic impulse and technological logic. The structure’s materiality is equally compelling: constructed from recycled car tires and brought to life with Alpha Additive’s proprietary 3D-printing techniques, DUAL transforms industrial waste into a vehicle for architectural renewal. Here, the process is the message, tools once linked to environmental harm are redeployed as agents of repair and resilience.
Guided by Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) principles, DUAL’s fabrication prioritizes efficiency, adaptability, and circularity. These values are not mere technicalities but are woven into the pavilion’s conceptual DNA, reinforcing its call for responsible, future-facing design. As Samuele Sordi, Pininfarina of America’s Chief Architect Officer, notes, DUAL “embodies our belief that innovation emerges from the synergy of artistry and computation, leadership and participation, vision and data.”
The setting at Alcova Miami amplifies this narrative. Nestled within the pastel mansions and lush courtyards of the Miami River Inn, DUAL forms part of a curated path that includes works by Italian artists Patrick Tuttofuoco and Piergiorgio Robino from Studio Nucleo, alongside a global roster of designers who challenge conventional boundaries of space, material, and meaning. The experience is immersive: visitors are invited to wander, discover, and reflect, encountering installations that provoke new ways of thinking about the built environment.
The significance of Alcova’s debut in Miami cannot be overstated. As Milan’s most progressive design forum goes transatlantic, Miami is positioned not just as a host city, but as an active participant in the evolution of global design culture. Pininfarina’s DUAL pavilion, with its synthesis of art and technology, stands as a testament to the possibilities that emerge when creative worlds collide.
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DUAL is on view at Alcova Miami from December 2–7, 2025, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (last entry at 6:15 p.m.).
