ALESSI MUTANTS

portfolio of SHUYEN PHOON

The baskets were designed with the intention of trapping heat in to keep the food warm. The traditional baskets were made of weaved bamboo, which does not retain heat very well.

Thus, the Alessi project incorporates a bamboo & stainless steel combination – the bamboo acts as a nostalgic nuance of the traditional baskets, and the steel as the trademark Alessi touch.

The form is mutated from Alessi’s Serpentine bottle opener (design by Tom Kovac). The mutation takes advantage of the void in the torus to create holes at the bottom of the baskets, allowing steam to permeate through to cook the dim sum.

The bamboo wraps around the steel to create an insulating skin to reduce heat transfer with the atmospheric air.

The teapot follows the aesthetic of the dim sum baskets, it acts as a set and also highlights the unity and importance of both food and beverage in the Yum Cha breakfast.

Similarly, a steel interior is encased by the bamboo weave to keep the tea warm.

Also present in a Yum Cha set are small communal containers that hold soy sauce, chilli, dips and toothpicks. The containers in this set is mutated again from a section of the baskets.

Liquid Semi-liquid Solid

The tray is designed to house the objects on the tablescape – it allows a seamless transfer of food and beverage to the table.

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The objects nestle into the tray providing stability to the handler. The tray also possess the capability to mutate and produce prototypes for tables by extrusion of the pockets.

Table-scape

Table-scape

User interaction with tray

User interaction with tray

The universal geometry of the tray has the potential to easily be modified to manufacture and suit different uses; such as a sculptural coffee and tea centre piece, to catering finger food and beverage for a casual poker game.