Define the “high tech” trend. Intelligent technology in cutting-edge design.
What are some of the most exciting developments in this category? The mechanical touch latch is a handleless solution that reinforces a purist look. By pressing the front, drawers and doors automatically move out a short distance and then can be opened manually. A soft close feature ensures the drawers are gently pulled closed the last few centimeters of travel. Handless fronts emphasize the aesthetics of furniture. A built-in multimedia LCD module has been specially developed to not require thermal ventilation and is equipped with an innovative and extremely small sound system. Integrated behind the glass backsplash, all electronics are protected from dust and dirt.
Why are people becoming interested in this category now? Open floor plans promote the social quality of a living space. Technology in design is aimed at improving everyday rituals. Cooking and eating are inextricably linked – both enrich life, both equally stimulate the senses and intellect. It’s a fusion of technology and living space.
What can we expect from this category in the future? The Dining Desk is Poggenpohl’s newest concept in cooperation with furniture manufacturer Draenert. It is a multi-functional table that opens mechanically to provide more width and allows preparation carts to become part of the table. One of these carts is a teppan yaki grill, allowing cooking at the table so your guests can be part of the cooking experience.
Future trends, spotted at the Milan Furniture Fair, included lots of glass cabinetry in neutral colors and glass textured or patterned surfaces; mirrored cabinetry; textured laminate cabinetry; and high tech gadgets for the kitchen such as electronic sensors to open cabinet doors and drawers, built-in computers and televisions in the backsplash, and exquisite ventilation hoods disguised as crystal lighting fixtures
If someone is interested in incorporating this trend into their home, what tips would you offer? Consider your lifestyle. High tech design allows you to personalize your kitchen to enhance the everyday rituals that revolve around the kitchen and surrounding living spaces. Interview by Cassandra A. Gaddo
After three years of research, Valcucine Chicago has developed a technique to make inlaid decors on glass, on display in the Artematica Vitrum design. This highly technological process has its roots in handicraft tradition and emphasizes the priceless value of handmade workmanship. It offers a new way of conceiving furniture that frees the imagination and makes it possible to personalize every single kitchen with decors offered by young artists, by the designer or even by your own creativity.
Using advanced automotive and aerospace technology, Neff of Chicago’s Avant Garde Kitchen combines vertical lines of ribbon mahogany veneer with strong horizontal lines of curved sculpture panels to create an exclusive holographic paint finish. The color fast polyurethane base coats join with crystal metallic additives to provide vibrant metallic color flashes from a rich burgundy to a warm gold along the peninsula’s perimeter. On the interior of the peninsula, NEFF’s unique channel system allows for a uniform surface that is functional without additional hardware.
Kohler’s new Fountainhead Vibracoustic Bath offers a multi-sensory bath that integrates water, light and vibration with four individually choreographed, relaxing music experiences. This bath uses a technology-based sound therapy defined as hearing and feeling sound vibrations through the body.
The Porsche Kitchen For Men from Poggenpohl boasts a high-tech audio-video system. The module has a purist appeal thanks to the aluminum-titanium colored, anodised aluminum frame with its ultra-glossy surfaces in back-painted glass. The electronics of the built-in LCD module are installed behind glass to protect these delicate components against dirt and splashing water. The module itself does not require a ventilation system and features an innovative, extremely small sound system whose plug-and-play solution offers options for both analogue and digital connections.
A gentle touch of the finger opens pull-out elements and drawers, thanks to built-in high-precision systems in Poggenpohl’s Touch Drawers, while a light push suffices to make them all withdraw and go back automatically into their original position. The drawers are featured in the Porsche Kitchen for Men.
Teutonic Shower Doors, created by Urban Achaeology, are custom doors with a clean, minimalist design with exposed stainless steel.
Even though it weighs just shy of 900 pounds, the Sub-Zero Pro 48 refrigerator costs less to run than a 100-watt lightbulb. The three temperature zones, all displayed externally, are correct within one degree.
The Wolf 60” Dual Fuel Range features dual convection technology, which utilizes to rear fans to create completely uniform heating within the unit. In addition, a catalytic converter allows several types of food to be cooked at once, with no flavor or odor transfer.