moka alessi

“This project is a tribute to my maternal grandfather Alfonso Bialetti who, in the ’30s of the 20th century, was the inventor, designer and first manufacturer of the Moka Express, the popular Italian espresso coffee maker. In our history we have already addressed the issue of the Espresso maker with projects created by top designers: Richard Sapper, Aldo Rossi, Michael Graves, King-Kong, Piero Lissoni, Wiel Arets, and intended for the high-end market. This time I asked Alessandro Mendini (with whom I’ve been talking about this issue for at least twenty years) to come up with a new project for a coffee maker, trying to put himself in my grandfather’s shoes and re-interpret the ingenious invention with today’s awareness of the levers effecting contemporary design. And all of this done with the great innovation of maintaining a low price, an exceptionally low price for a product from Alessi“. Alberto Alessi
The rounded shapes proposed by Mendini make this Coffee maker both original and innovative. A new archetype with a strong a distinctive mark. Mendini identified that mark in the sinuous, tapering profile giving the coffee maker a strong formal character that is immediately recognisable. Beyond that, everything else about the “Moka Alessi” has striven to be faithful to the original in every traditional detail, building on and improving every formal and technical detail. The thickness of the material and the volumes of containers have been optimised; the proportions between the water boiler and the upper container have been recalculated; a partition has been introduced to direct the condensation from the steam that collects under the lid back into the container. Particular attention was paid to the design of the handle, positioned parallel to the side of the coffee maker, leaving enough space to prevent contact between the coffee maker’s hot body and the users. The “Moka Alessi” is in cast aluminium, brushed and tumbled (mechanical polishing with steel balls). It comes in the two classic dimensions of 3 and 6 servings.

Born in Milan in 1931, Alessandro Mendini is an architect, designer, artist, theorist and journalist. With Brandon and Sottsass he is the leading theoretician and promoter of the renewal of Italian design in the 80’s. He directed the magazine Casabella, Modo and Domus. He works with international companies such as Alessi, Philips, Cartier, Swatch, Hermés and he is a consultant to various industries, including the Far East. In 1979 and 1981 he was awarded the Golden Compass for the design, and in 1989 he opened with his brother Francesco, the Atelier Mendini in Milan