Alessi: The Design Factory - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0471978574 ISBN 13: 9780471978572

Publisher: Wiley, 2001

Synopsis

With a new introduction by Professor Christopher Frayling, it features may new products and ranges launched in the four years since the last edition; these include 'Alessitronics', the electrical kitchen appliances produced in association with Philips, and 'Comix in the Kitchen'.

Alessi emerged at the forefront of design activity in the 1980s. Founded in 1921 to produce crafted products in metal for eating and drinking, Alberto Alessi launched the company into the design decade through his unique collaboration with designers and architects such as Alessandro Mendini, Ettore Sottsass, Richard Sapper and Achille Castiglioni, and the creation of two main trade marks; Alessi, geared towards mass production, and Officina Alessi towards more experimental limited editions.

Alberto Alessi discusses the company's design ethos, viewing it as a research laboratory in the applied arts. In comprehensive extracts from the Alessi Factory Journal he provides valuable insights into the evolution of products and his relationship with their designers. Alessandro Mendini, Ettore Sottsass, Richard Sapper, Achille Castiglioni, Richare Meier, Hans Hollein and Andrea Branzi contribute statements on their work with Alessi, and there are essays by Michael Graves, Nonie Niesewand, Marco Migliari and Daniel Weil. All the famous products are fully illustrated as well as much less well-known and unpublished material. Following the rebuttal of the design decade, this book shows how Alessi flourishes and develops in the late 1990s.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

Alessi The Design Factory Second Edition This new edition of the best-selling monograph on Alessi brings the history of the company right up to date. With a new introduction by Professor Christopher Frayling, it features many new products and ranges launched in the four years since the last edition; these include 'Alessitronics', the electrical kitchen appliances produced in association with Philips, and 'Comix in the Kitchen'. Alessi emerged at the forefront of design activity in the 1980s. Founded in 1921 to produce crafted products in metal for eating and drinking, Alberto Alessi launched the company into the design decade through his unique collaboration with designers and architects such as Alessandro Mendini, Ettore Sottsass, Richard Sapper and Achille Castiglioni, and the creation of two main trade marks: Alessi, geared towards mass production, and Officina Alessi towards more experimental limited editions. Alberto Alessi discusses the company's design ethos, viewing it as a research laboratory in the applied arts. In comprehensive extracts from the Alessi Factory Journal he provides valuable insights into the evolution of products and his relationship with their designers. Alessandro Mendini, Ettore Sottsass, Richard Sapper, Achille Castiglioni, Richard Meier, Hans Hollein and Andrea Branzi contribute statements on their work with Alessi, and there are essays by Michael Graves, Nonie Niesewand, Marco Migliari and Daniel Weil. All the famous products are fully illustrated as well as much less well-known and unpublished material. Following the rebuttal of the design decade, this book shows how Alessi flourishes and develops in the late 1990s. Art & Design Monographs concentrate on architects, artists and designers of lasting interest and importance. Fully illustrated in colour, each monograph contains authoritative commentaries on the careers and works of the individual represented, providing a richly visual and comprehensive critical study.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0471978574
• ISBN 13: 9780471978572
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 152
• Editor: Alessi Alberto