Fondazione Prada

“What is a cultural institution for?” This is the imposing question Fondazione Prada poses to its patrons, and attempts to answer within the walls of a former 1910’s distillery. Its main institution is a combination of new and renovated buildings including warehouses, laboratories, and brewing silos, as well as new buildings surrounding a large courtyard.

In addition to the former distillery location, the Fondazione also operates two venues in Milan: the Largo Isacro and Osservatorio. The Largo Isacro, opened in 2015, was designed by architecture firm OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture), while the Osservatorio is a photography gallery occupying the fifth and sixth floors of Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

Withint the Largo Isacro venue are three new structures built specifically for the Fondazione. They include the Podium, a space for temporary exhibitions; Cinema, a multimedia auditorium; and Torre, a nine-story permanent exhibition space for displaying the foundation’s collection and activities.

If you were thinking the Fondazione Prada had any affiliation with the iconic fashion brand of the same name, you would be right. Fashion namesake Miuccia Prada is a co-chair of the Fondazione along with her husband, Patrizio Bertelli. The power couple have chaired the institution since 1995.