70s Icons: Objects That Revolutionized the Kitchen

Some kitchen objects, now icons of the 1970s, were created by famous designers such as Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper.

One example is the Terraillon kitchen scale. Who didn’t have one at home? Practical and colorful, it was designed by the famous architect and designer duo Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper. Designed in 1969, it was compact: when closed, it measured 11.5 cm in height, 11 cm in depth, and 16.5 cm in width. The innovation primarily concerned the food container which, when inverted, transformed into a sort of lid, giving the scale an innovative square shape.

In 1979, the two designers separately created two coffee makers that made design history in the 1970s.

Marco Zanuso created the “Carmencita” coffee maker for Lavazza, preserved in the Permanent Collection of Italian Design at the Milan Triennale. Its distinctive shape derives from the famous conical characters used in those years for advertising the well-known coffee brand.

Richard Sapper designed the “9090” coffee maker for Alessi, a high-level example of Italian design combined with innovative technology. Produced entirely in 18/10 stainless steel, polished on the outside and satin-finished on the inside, it features a special patented opening system that made it famous worldwide. Do you still own one? Remember that this coffee maker is displayed in the Design Collection at the M.O.M.A. in New York.