Kitchen Product of the Year
It has been a particularly strong year for new kitchen products, as the entries for this year’s Manufacturer Awards demonstrated...
Winner
B2 by Bulthaup
A stand-out reinvention of the freestanding kitchen, Bulthaup’s B2 is a big step away from the company’s comfort zone. Designed to be a ‘kitchen workshop’, the range consists of individual units that ensure kitchen items can be at once close at hand but also easily hidden away.
Unveiled for the first time at the Bulthaup showroom in Milan earlier this year, the kitchen offers ultimate flexibility in mixing and matching units and even adding additional units at a later date should the requirements of the home change over time.
Well crafted and with a great emphasis on minor detail that will help the kitchen user, B2 scores highly for the way in which it forces us to question existing ideas about flexibility and practicality in the kitchn.
See the June 2008 issue of Designer for an interview with B2 designers Eoos and a more detailed look at the kitchen itself. Back issues can be viewed online at www.thedesignermagazine.com
Finalist
P'7340 Kitchen by Poggenpohl
Launched a year ago at Porche in Leipzig, Poggenpohl’s P’7340 kitchen startled many by being billed as a ‘kitchen for men’, but since then its minimalist and masculine appearance has caught the attention at a number of trade shows and a few select showrooms, including London’s Harrods store.
Sleek styling and an inconspicuous framing system allow the materials to really shine in what is a striking overall design.
The P’7340 was first seen in the UK on the pages of Designer in October 2007.
Finalist
Swich by Abode
For its sheer ingenuity, Abode’s Swich was deemed worthy of greater recognition. This simple product converts any kitchen tap to enable it to deliver hot, cold and filtered water. It is easy to locate in the tap/sink area, is small quick and easy to install, and removes the need to replace a perfectly good tap just to achieve filtered tap functionality.
See the August 2008 issue of Designer for a closer look at the product and the design story behind it by its creator, Paul Illingworth, Design Manager at Abode.
Finalist
Flush-fitting Cooktop by Gaggenau
Gaggenau scored a real design triumph with its flush-fitting gas cooktop. 100cm wide and with five burners, the appliance offers a real alternative to traditional hob installations for kitchen designers.
Finalist
S1 by SieMatic
SieMatic made a massive impression at Eurocucina with an outstanding demonstration of quite what it is that makes its new S1 kitchen so special.
The intention from the start was to create a kitchen that is minimalist and pure in style, yet recognizable as a SieMatic and packed with features.
At the kitchen’s heart is the SmartBoard which enables full integration of functions such as lighting, a timer, clock, music, television and the Internet. The ‘hidden value’ of the kitchen however is that the SieMatic design team have been able to conceal all of this functionality – and a host of very clever storage ideas – behind what is ultimately a simple, clean and pared-down aesthetic.
For a more detailed overview of the S1 kitchen, see the May 2008 issue of Designer.
Finalist
Shock Freezer by Kitchenaid
KitchenAid’s 60cm integrated Shock Freezer was launched earlier this year in a move that the company says brings a technology that was previously only available in commercial kitchens into the home for the first time. Shock freezing and blast chilling can apparently extend food shelf life by up to three times compared to traditional chilling or freezing since it brings the temperature down to the required level much more rapidly. The process also ensures better preservation of nutritional value, textures and flavours.