設計風格活色生猛、戲謔大膽，是我們對義大利品牌Alessi長久以來的印象，從Alessandro Mendini的「Anna G」瓶塞起子、Michael Graves的「 Alessi 9093」水壺，又或是Philippe Starck的「The Juicy Salif Lemon」外星人榨汁器等，其合作過的設計師名單上星光熠熠，當中不少經典的設計亦先後獲選入紐約MoMA、巴黎羅浮宮等展館的館藏之上。
「Water Tower」貯存器是繼去年的「Time Maze」掛牆鐘後，建築師Daniel Libeskind再度為Alessi設計的居家產品。Daniel Libeskind出生於波蘭，後移居美國紐約，「柏林猶太博物館」、「世界貿易中心一號大樓」等赫赫有名的建築都來自他的手筆。這次他設計的「Water Tower」，其靈感來自紐約建築頂樓常見的水箱設備，然而設計本身，也是對其故友Aldo Rossi的致敬之舉。
Aldo Rossi是來自米蘭的建築師，《城市建築》理論的提倡人，其在世時也曾為與Alessi協力，當中又以1980年出品的「LA CONICA」咖啡壺最經典。前一陣子，Alessi理事長Alberto Alessi受訪時曾表示，Daniel Libeskind將一個劃時代性的城市景觀，轉化成一個桌上型的微建築——「Water Tower」，是他對Aldo Rossi這位米蘭建築家一份破格的致敬之作。2017年恰逢是Aldo Rossi逝世二十周年，「Water Tower」作為對前者的致敬，是一份實用、收藏兩相宜的現代工藝品，當中更蘊藏著兩位建築大師之間的情誼。
Whimsical, innovative and ironic are adjectives that are usually associated with the Italian brand Alessi. Alessandro Mendini’s Anna G corkscrew, Michael Graves’ Alessi 9093 kettle, Philippe Starck’s Juicy Salif Lemon citrus squeezer, to name a few, are all classic designs by acclaimed collaborators that Alessi is always proud of. Many of the brand’s designs are selected by MoMA, the Louvre and other museums as collections.
After the Time Maze wall clock that was designed last year, the architect Daniel Libeskind collaborated with Alessi again to design yet another household product — the Water Tower container. Libeskind was born in Poland and is currently living in New York. The Jewish Museum Berlin and One World Trade Center are examples among many of Libeskind’s internationally renowned designs. The Water Tower he designed for Alessi was inspired by the rooftop water towers that dominate the New York skyline; it is at the same time a tribute to his late friend Aldo Rossi.
The Milan-born architect Aldo Rossi was the author of The Architecture of the City. During his time, Rossi had multiple collaborations with Alessi, with La conica espresso coffee maker being the most classic work. Alberto Alessi of the new Officina Alessi design once said, “Once a young colleague and friend of Aldo Rossi, Libeskind intended to pay tribute to the Milanese architect with this curious object, “Water Tower”, which evokes the nearly monumental presence of the urban landscape, transforming it into a bold, tabletop-scale work of architecture.” Rossi died 20 years ago. Water Tower that was designed in 2017 is not only a tribute to the talented architect, but is also a modern, functional, and collectible craftwork that contains the friendship between the two architects.
