Accademia del caffè espresso

La Marzocco, Firenze, (IT) 2018
2018
Completed
Exhibits

Accademia del Caffè Espresso is a cultural hub focused on understanding and promoting espresso coffee in the world

Housed in the old La Marzocco’s factory, and inaugurated in 2018, Accademia del caffè espresso is a multi-purpose center designed by Giò Forma. Conceived as a hub for research, culture, and experimentation, it brings together La Marzocco’s company museum and historical archive, an indoor coffee plantation, research and education laboratories, and the Officine Fratelli Bambi — a workshop dedicated to craftsmanship and artistry, producing bespoke espresso machines.
Envisioned as the Espresso Coffee Development and Cultural Understanding Center, the Accademia is dedicated to fostering encounters, knowledge-sharing, and both professional and personal growth across all traditional and contemporary expressions of coffee culture. Research, education, and technology form the three core pillars developed by La Marzocco — a company founded in 1927 and now headquartered in Scarperia — within the former industrial space, reimagined as a living cultural and educational environment.

The Accademia is the result of layered influences, ongoing research, and inspiration drawn from the past, reshaping the present and projecting coffee culture into the future. On site, visitors will find an original Bambi Bar, dedicated to coffee tastings — including rare and vintage blends — alongside an indoor greenhouse coffee plantation designed to explore cultivation challenges and specificities. Exhibitions and installations narrate the origins of coffee and its complexity, while a timeline traces the long evolution of design and technology.

The center also features spaces for experimenting with coffee machines, a structured program of courses for aspiring baristas and young artisans, educational exchanges with coffee-producing countries, as well as round tables, talks, and seminars — positioning the Accademia as an international reference point for coffee culture and innovation.

Coffee bar with oak-slatted counter and espresso machines before a tall glass wall of machine displays – La Marzocco Accademia del Caffè Espresso, Florence, Italy, 2018 – interior design
Corridor wall with two shelves of framed black and white photos under the title Album di famiglia – La Marzocco Accademia del Caffè Espresso, Florence, Italy, 2018 – interior designMuseum counter displaying historic espresso machines, a timeline of round photos and a vintage van – La Marzocco Accademia del Caffè Espresso, Florence, Italy, 2018 – interior design
Wide view of the coffee bar and multi-level glass display case in the converted factory hall – La Marzocco Accademia del Caffè Espresso, Florence, Italy, 2018 – interior designGlass and steel greenhouse cube with etched plant drawings, holding the indoor coffee plantation – La Marzocco Accademia del Caffè Espresso, Florence, Italy, 2018 – interior design
Coffee plants growing in a wooden planter marked with years beneath an infographic wall – La Marzocco Accademia del Caffè Espresso, Florence, Italy, 2018 – interior designDark exhibition room with a kinetic machine sculpture, video screens and headphones on the wall – La Marzocco Accademia del Caffè Espresso, Florence, Italy, 2018 – interior design
Fabbrica dell'Aria glass door with plants inside, opening onto a bright hall with tables and a tree – La Marzocco Accademia del Caffè Espresso, Florence, Italy, 2018 – interior designLarge oak stepped seating with black cushions in front of the glass greenhouse and a mezzanine – La Marzocco Accademia del Caffè Espresso, Florence, Italy, 2018 – interior design
Two wall cases displaying the exploded components of an espresso machine, each part laid out – La Marzocco Accademia del Caffè Espresso, Florence, Italy, 2018 – interior designWall-sized world map with raised white continents and the words Espresso is our world – La Marzocco Accademia del Caffè Espresso, Florence, Italy, 2018 – interior design
Vintage red and cream La Marzocco van displayed in the museum, front three-quarter view – La Marzocco Accademia del Caffè Espresso, Florence, Italy, 2018 – interior designRed espresso machine on a round plinth beside a vintage van and a digital photo wall – La Marzocco Accademia del Caffè Espresso, Florence, Italy, 2018 – interior design
Shop with folded T-shirts on an oak table, a screen with the Accademia logo and a wooden staircase – La Marzocco Accademia del Caffè Espresso, Florence, Italy, 2018 – interior designTraining room with a long white table set for coffee cupping, grinders by windows on the hills – La Marzocco Accademia del Caffè Espresso, Florence, Italy, 2018 – interior design