The 9091 kettle was the first of the signature kettles for Alessi, ushering in a period of joy. The central element of the project is the brass whistle, which gives a melody quite different from the usual shrill sound. Richard Sapper, who had chosen to go into design because he had equal interest in art and technology, managed to solve a seemingly minor problem in a finely poetic way: he went back to his native Germany to find craftsmen who could produce whistles with a low timbre in a minimal volume.
Richard Sapper
Born in Munich in 1932, he moved to Milan in the 1950s, where he worked with Gio Ponti. He then entered into a happy professional partnership with Marco Zanuso, which lasted until 1975. He taught at renowned Italian and foreign universities. He was honoured eleven times with the Compasso d'Oro and also received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. His style combines technical innovation, essential forms and attention to detail. His projects are exhibited in the most important international museums. The objects produced for Alessi include the 9090 espresso machine, which was awarded the company's first Compasso d'Oro, and the melodic whistling kettle 9091. He passed away in 2015.
Meet the designer