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Collection by Alessi

Process: The 9090

Richard Sapper's design of the 9090 isn't just the first espresso coffee maker in Alessi's history: it was also Alessi's first object for the kitchen after the 1930s, the first of Alessi's many Compasso d'Oro awards (1979), Alessi's first object to be inducted into the Permanent Design Collection at the New York MOMA. Of course it's the best-loved Alessi coffee maker, as well as Alessi's first "amphibious object", i.e. it is for kitchen use, but with its high design quality it can also be brought directly to the table.

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Richard Sapper (1932-2015) "For me, the shape is the result of an inner life that any object must have." - Richard Sapper Photo courtesy of Knoll, Inc.
Richard Sapper (1932-2015) "For me, the shape is the result of an inner life that any object must have." - Richard Sapper Photo courtesy of Knoll, Inc.
9090 designed by Richard Sapper
9090 designed by Richard Sapper
After the latching components of the boiler body are precisely aligned in a jig, a technician at Alessi spot-welds the pieces together.
After the latching components of the boiler body are precisely aligned in a jig, a technician at Alessi spot-welds the pieces together.
Final assembly begins: Workers at the Alessi factory carefully tap the finished pieces of an upper container together.
Final assembly begins: Workers at the Alessi factory carefully tap the finished pieces of an upper container together.
Design is a process–these are models and prototypes that Sapper and Alessi used when developing the 9090.
Design is a process–these are models and prototypes that Sapper and Alessi used when developing the 9090.
The factory contains a wide array of hydraulic presses. The cagelike bins hold groups of cold-pressed objects left ready for the next phase of production. Alessi's facility manufacture fifty-thousand 9090's per year.
The factory contains a wide array of hydraulic presses. The cagelike bins hold groups of cold-pressed objects left ready for the next phase of production. Alessi's facility manufacture fifty-thousand 9090's per year.