2A+P/A studio drawings on show at Antonia Jannone in Milan

The Antonia Jannone gallery in Milan presented 'Disegni e progetti', an exhibition dedicated to the architectural studio 2A+P/A, inaugurated during the recently concluded Salone del Mobile. The show explores design as a form of knowledge and interpretation of reality, through both the studio's own works and those of others. The installation is organized around two bodies of work: one wall displays a collection of 36 UV prints on paper, created for the first Biennale of Orleans and commissioned by the Frac Centre-Val de Loire; the opposite wall presents a selection of projects from the studio's ten-year activity, including competition entries, exhibition pavilions, and realized buildings. Each print interprets works that the duo—Gianfranco Bombaci and Matteo Costanzo, professors at the Royal College of Art in London—recognizes as sources of inspiration and leitmotifs, defining their design grammar. The exhibition weaves a dense dialogue across disciplines, juxtaposing de Chirico's landscapes with Gae Aulenti's Rimorchiatore lamp and Sottsass's watercolors, bridging past and contemporary. It reveals analogies, contrasts, citations, and obsessions, underscoring that design is not defined from the outset but structured over time, nourished by what the author has seen, studied, and lived. The show references Franco Purini's concept of 'composing architecture', where the designer makes choices rather than following prescribed rules.