Richard Sapper, a hugely influential industrial designer who created everything from award-winning kitchenware and radio sets to cars and computers, has died at the age of 83. Sapper, who was born and educated in Munich, Germany but spent most of his working life in Italy, was perhaps best known for his design of iconic espresso makers, in both their stovetop and electric, capsule-based forms, for upmarket kitchenware manufacturer Alessi.
He died in Milan on December 31, one of his publishers, London-based Phaidon, said on their website. His funeral was held in Milan's Lutheran church on Tuesday. His daughter Carola told the New York Times that her father had died of complications resulting from cancer. Phaidon described Sapper as "one of the most influential industrial designers of his generation", saying his best work synthesised a "formal simplicity and rigor, technical understanding not to mention a poetic humour."
A serial prize-winner, at least 15 of Sapper's designs are now showcased in New York's Museum of Modern Art or in London's Victoria and Albert and Design Museums. The son of an artist of the same name, Sapper was born in Munich in 1932 and began his career working on car styling for German auto giant Mercedes-Benz. He moved to Milan in 1958, initially to work for architect Gio Ponti and then the department store group La Rinascente.
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