alessi limited edition tea & coffee towers by david chipperfield
david chipperfield: "freed from the industrial and economic constraints of commercial design, the preferences of the author are both liberated and exposed. in being set this task to design a tea and coffee set, we find ourselves attached to the memories of these vessels through time, their forms, their status and their materiality. in using silver, we have taken the chance to create a product from the qualities inherent in the process of making something by hand, and in the qualities of a malleable, reflective and ultimately soft material. our inclination was to create a form that would not mimic ceramic pottery (typically formed on a lathe, normally symmetrical, with angular joints etc.), one that would rather convey the characteristics of silver. hence our preference for a fluid shape, evocative of the character of melting metal. the sugar bowl and milk jug have their own identity and materiality-to simply adjust the pots' shape onto two further items would have meant to create a style for the whole set and this was not our intent."

production limited to 99 copies, plus 3 author's proofs. available exclusively through max protetch gallery. price subject to change.