Your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you. That is a traditional Italian build on Via Tortona being unzipped by a gigantic zipper.

Designed by British sculptor Alex Chinneck for Milan Design Week, the piece has gained a momentous amount of traction, both domestically and globally. Scaling the 17-metre front of this classic structure is a cement zipper. What is revealed is a completely blank canvas that in-fact is illuminated when night falls.

‘Through the repeated use of the zipper, we have opened up the fabric of a seemingly historic Milanese building to playfully re-imagine what lies behind its facade, floors and walls,’ says Chinneck. ‘Ethereal light pours through each opening, filling the space with color and filling the work with a sense of positivity and potential.’

Commissioned by vape brand IQOS, the visual play within this structural feat is one to note. The creation of a completely new exterior was paramount. Additionally, cement was poured onto the floor in order to manifest an unzipped glowing hole akin to a gateway to another dimension – awe inspiring!

Alex Chinneck’s installation is at Spazio Quattrocento, Via Tortona 31, Milan 20144 from 8 to 14 April.

Milan Design Week: milandesignweek.com
Alex Chinneck: alexchinneck.com

Instagram: @alexchinneck