Rem Koolhaas’s design for the upcoming Fondazione Prada in Milan

This May, just as the chaos of the Salone del Mobile design fair subsides and the buzz of the Milan Expo moves into town, the Italian metropolis will add a more permanent institution to its plentiful cultural offerings. The Fondazione Prada, founded in 1993 by Miuccia Prada and her husband, Patrizio Bertelli, will open the doors to its new space in Largo Isarco in south Milan.

Designed by the inimitable Rem Koolhaas and his practice, OMA, the new venue unites seven early-20th-century industrial buildings and three new structures, transforming the former distillery into an expansive arts and culture hub with some 118,000 square feet of dedicated exhibition space.

“The Fondazione is not a preservation project, and it’s not new architecture,” says Koolhaas. “Two conditions that are usually kept separate here confront each other in a state of permanent interaction, offering an ensemble of fragments that will not congeal into a single image nor allow any part to dominate the others.”

Fondazione Prada has staged countless global exhibitions, events, installations, and talks exploring varied facets of contemporary culture, from art and design to cinema and philosophy. Adding to the Fondazione’s Venice location—which operates out of an 18th-century palazzo and stages exhibitions to coincide with the Biennale—the new Milan venue will be Prada’s first space with a full, year-round program.

The inaugural exhibitions include installations by artists Robert Gober and Thomas Demand, a new documentary and screenings curated by Roman Polanski, and “Serial Classic,” a series of shows featuring artworks from the Prada Collection.

Opens May 9; fondazionepradarg

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