Crusinallo, (MI), Italy
Designed by Richard Sapper in the 1970s, the “Plico” trolley is one of the lesser-known, though more representative, projects from this unforgettable artist’s body of work.
The RS11 Plico Tray-Trolley was awarded Good Design in 2020 by The Chicago Athenaeum.
Richard Sapper (1932- 2015) was a German industrial designer based in Milan, Italy. He is considered as one of the most important designers of his generation, his products typically featuring a combination of technical innovation, simplicity of form and an element of wit and surprise. He collaborated with many prominent Italian architects, including Gio Ponti, Marco Zanuso, and Alessandro Mendini.
In 1980, Sapper was appointed principal industrial design consultant at IBM and began designing numerous portable computers, including the first ThinkPad 700C in 1992.
His Tizio lamp for Artemide, one of the first desk lamps using halogen bulbs with low-voltage current conducting arms to eliminate the need for wires, is a landmark design from that era.
In 1978, Alessi commissioned Sapper with the first product in a long series to come, the stove-top espresso maker 9090. It was followed, amongst other products, by the two-note whistling water kettle Bollitore in 1984, the Bandung teapot in 1990, the Coban espresso machine in 1997, the cheese grater Todo in 2006 and the Cintura di Orione cookware series in 1986 and 2009.
Alessi commissioned Sapper for the Plico in the 1970s; and in this decade, Sapper’s lesser-known trolley has again been reissued again.
Easy to handle and extremely compact when folded, Plico can be used both as a food trolley and as a bed or sofa table.
Once folded, the trolley occupies minimal space, allowing it to be placed behind a door or between two pieces of kitchen furniture.
The brakes on the rear wheels make the trolley free-standing when closed.
Plico is a folding trolley in steel colored with epoxy resin in black. The shelves are polyurethane.
Designers: Richard Sapper
Manufacturer: Alessi SpA
