Tray, from a Coffee and Tea Service

In 1981, Hans Hollein was one of eleven internationally-recognized architect-designers invited to design a tea and coffee piazza, as part of a special project undertaken by the well-known Italian design firm Alessi. The use of an architectural term for a functional object reinforces the Postmodern sense of architectural spacial arrangement given to familiar forms. Hollein chose an aircraft carrier to define the placement of his tea service components. The services were produced in editions of ninety-nine. Other architects who participated in the project included American Michael Graves and Italian Alessandro Mendini, who were both very active in the Postmodern movement of the 1980s.