Moka Espresso Coffee Maker – Alessi
Invented in the early 1900s, the espresso coffee maker revolutionised how coffee is made and the Moka, designed by architect David Chipperfield for Alessi, is a modern interpretation of this timeless kitchen staple. The eleven-sided construction keeps the form familiar as a coffee pot, but with a new and different feeling. The lid is deliberately flat, creating a surface for resting and warming cups whilst the coffee brews. The valve, made from brass, is equally reliable and high-performing as the most modern stainless steel parts. The nod back to early espresso coffee makers is even seen in the packaging, whose 30s style graphics are brought up to date in a fun, contemporary colour palette.
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Designer – David Chipperfield
Dimensions:
3 Cup: 13.5 x 9 x 16cm (HxWxD)
6 Cup: 10.5 x 18 x 18cm (HxWxD)
Material – Aluminium
Weight: 0.5 (3 Cup), 0.9kg (6 Cup)
Capacity 15cl (3 Cup), 30cl (6 Cup)
ABOUT THE DESIGNER
David Chipperfield – Born in London, he founded David Chipperfield Architects in London in 1985, which today has five offices in London, Berlin, Milan, Shanghai and Santiago de Compostela. He teaches and lectures all over the world. In 2012 he curated the 13th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale and in 2020 he was guest editor of Domus magazine. In 2017, he founded Fundación RIA in Spain, a non-profit organisation working towards positive economic, environmental and cultural development. He has received multiple awards, including the RIBA Royal Gold Medal for architecture and, in 2023, the prestigious Pritzker Prize for Architecture.
ABOUT ALESSI
For over a century, Alessi has been creating extraordinary objects that make people dream, feel, think and experience poetry in their daily lives. By collaborating with the best creative minds from around the world, Alessi brings the most unexpected and contemporary expressions of design culture into people’s homes.
The Italian company was founded in 1921 by Giovanni Alessi and initially concentrated on metal kitchenware. His products and designs of coffee pots became so popular, that by 1924 the brand name ‘Alessi’ was well established.
By the 1950s the company broadened its approach, deciding to collaborate with well-known designers. The aim was to break away from modernism and even traditional designs and to try more unconventional design ideas, including those from groups such as Studio Alchima (Alessandro Mendini) and Memphis (Ettore Sottsass). Other designers associated with Alessi include Aldo Rossi, Philippe Starck and Michael Graves. The collaborative and creative approach they use has become the hallmark of the Alessi brand.
Alessi is now a B Corp, a company which strives to maximise the positive impact they have on their employees, the communities in which they operate and the environment, by using the business as a force for regeneration and sustainability.
