The city of Milan is buzzing this time of year with design events around every corner and at the Rho fairgrounds, you can catch EuroCucina now on its 22nd edition. The biennial event dedicated to kitchen design along with the FTK side show exhibits all the highlights and latest news in appliances and kitchen design.
Sprawling over 22,000 square meters, EuroCucina hosts 117 companies this year, ready to welcome the over 300,000 expected visitors. It’s the perfect occasion to get up close and personal with the many trends and technologies in an ever evolving sector. Walking through the gorgeous set up, four pavilions make it clear that the modern kitchen has become an area to experience at 360°, connected more than ever to living spaces curated down to the last detail.
The biggest trend sweeping the industry seen in the offers of countless top brands is the hidden component to a modular kitchen. As a development of the open space floorplan, these spaces offer the ability to hide or camouflage some of the basic functions of a kitchen.
How so? Large cupboards feature concealed openings, columns double as containers, and high-capacity cabinets allow you to keep everything in its place while hiding appliances. Technical equipment, along with the wash area, are tucked away. Opaque satin or silk-screened glass doors filter peering glances and sliding tops cover sinks and stovetops when not in use.
The result is an impeccably organized area and customizable compositions that alternate between full and empty, paired with bookcases and open shelving that blurs the line between kitchen and living space.
New kitchen design includes solutions and technologies that were once reserved for the industrial kitchen, like continuous cooktops and grills, sanitation areas, high-suction hoods, and perfectly equipped tabletops. The end goal is always to create a workspace worthy of a chef, where starred-restaurant recipes feel right at home.
As far as aesthetics are concerned, rationality and formal purity rule. All references to tradition have disappeared and are quickly fading from production. The biggest brands are creating products with clean and calibrated surfaces made from prestigious materials. Colors and materials are personalized to the max, between soft and natural tones with customized finishes, for a tailor-made kitchen.
The curation for Dada, by Vincent van Duysen, alternates sophisticated geometric compositions with detailed spaces big in personality to create a perfect harmony. The layout was designed to highlight design and the functionality of the new Prime and Hi-Line 6, revisiting a previous model — both of which are characterized by a central island. Plenty of glass in essential design is coupled with noble materials like Oak wood and marble tabletops. Hidden solutions and removable doors and shelves allow for a completely customized kitchen.
The Belgian architect, creative director, and image consultant for the brand also signs off on Ratio, a new project still in development. In the foreground, a metal frame inspired by the supporting structures of a building with perpendicular lines and modular elements for a customized kitchen.
EuroCucina 2018 marks the official debut of Poliform in the kitchen, bringing an exclusive series of products to the fairgrounds. The new Shape sits next to previous models that have been reworked in modules and formats, enriched with new finishes, accessories, and technical details.
Tabletops are tapered to the extreme in order to allow for accessories and additional elements like cutting boards and metal grills. The suspended hood is transformed into an aesthetic touch, extending across the length of the surface below. Cupboards are deeper, arriving at 84 cm with a height of 295 cm, allowing for more storage while keeping the elegant composition intact.
From Veneta Cucine, ten compositions for a modern kitchen vary in materials and finishes, revealing the identity of the brand. The Lounge steps into the spotlight as the most recent model, presented in different versions to illustrate the wide gamut of expressive possibilities. Particularly impressive is the pairing of oxidized spruce and liquid bronze metal.
The project includes a new sense of modularity that allows for a larger capacity in respect to the previous models — rendering the space all the more elegant, welcoming, and functional.
Valcucine focuses on aesthetic and functional quality with style and technological savvy. The star of the show is the glass, treated in a variety of ways, including the acid-etched finish in areas that seem to vibrate to the touch. New surfaces to connect with the tabletop or below the cupboards are available in different sizes to create varying geometries along with an optional ozone sanitizing area, just like in the bigger industrial kitchens.
The new Logica Celata system by Gabriele Centazzo is largely echoed through the curation. The door, thanks to an advanced counterweight mechanism, moves upwards to reveal a workspace. Different combinations are available, from the stovetop to bar, to the pantry and the preparation area. The optional illuminated background with chromotherapy is an extra touch.
Elam, kitchen brand with the Tisettanta group, presents its E10 special project with an evident expertise. A central island stands as a lava stone monolith to evoke a natural feel in the environment.
The stand also presents Vision, a model with an industrial chic façade and details in lacquered metal. The Opera model, covered with Neolit ceramics, pulls out the stone and impeccable details of the large, 160 cm hidden drawers.
Ernestomeda features models in the Ikon, K-Lab, and Soul collections, enriched with original compositional elements and new finishes.
The latest addition is Inside System, designed by Giuseppe Bavuso. A new kitchen system based on the combination of cabin containers with an informal aesthetic, customizable with various equipment. A key characteristic is the complete opening of the container through a system of side folding doors, which allows total access to the space inside.
Arrital focuses on innovation and technology. At the stand designed by architect Franco Driusso, you’ll find the Ak_04collection and the new Ak_05 model, centered around a careful selection of avant-garde materials and new functions.
The Ak_05 kitchen is based on compositional rigor through a modular setup and the extensive use of a concealed closing system. The work areas were combined with new functions and hi-tech accessories, like the bar with USB socket and shelves for tablets while you’re cooking.
Effortlessly inserted in the Lago stand, the 368 Fusion Kitchen debuts at the fairgrounds with panels finished in XGlass, perfect for completing contemporary interiors. Born from the most advanced digital technology that allows images to be transferred onto glass, this new material lends itself the brand’s philosophy. Lago’s new kitchens look for a light feel with a mix of anti-conventional forms.
http://www.tisettanta.it/ (for Elam)
