At EuroCucina in Milan last month, Valcucine revealed a number of new finishes for many of its ranges and most recent collections including Genius Loci. A new interactive, patented kitchen system called V-Motion kit features new smart opening and closing systems for the drawers and doors of the equipped back panel, which respond to the lightest touch. When the Air Logica System gently opens up, the tap swivels around while the light on the back panel turns on.

The new Gourmet System was also launched; a semi-professional solution where the inclusion of clever features such as the steel top with concealed storage area and built-in equipped back section, ensures high performance and extreme ease of use in all prepping and cooking tasks. There were also new and exclusive finishes  – matt Mochaccino, Wheat Yellow and Olmo Carnico – as well as black textile glass, structured lacquers and aluminium silk effects.

Valcucine

The Whirlpool Group also exhibited at the show, the highlight of which was an exciting concept kitchen called Interactive Kitchen of the Future. Simulating a day in the life of a smart kitchen, it explores how the kitchen can work as a cooking and informational hub. It showcases how Whirlpool’s smart tech will interact with the world of connected smart devices and the wider eco-system of connected appliances in the ‘Internet of Things’, to help a family cook, clean and care in the near future. The Group also revealed a new SmartCook range of induction cooktops with revolutionary assisted cooking, a SupremeClean dishwasher and Supreme built-in fridge-freezer for food that stays fresh for longer.

Whirlpool

 Also unveiled was a collaboration by German kitchen brand Rational and world-renowned designer Karim Rashid to create a new concept called floo, a minimalist design inspired by round, natural shapes and strong monolithic elements. The concept has a continuous radius detail that also functions as a handle, and strong monobloc storage elements with a clean, seamless look. Whilst the colour scheme from the outside is a shimmering white, the interior is available in strong contrasting colours such as a warm zinc yellow and cool dark purple. With door fronts in either DuPont Corian or Rational’s own soft lacquer finish, it should be available from October.

Rational

 There was also an interactive exhibition on the world of design and technical materials, with projects by Alessandro Mendini, Stefano Giovannoni, Karim Rashid, Marcel Wanders and Ben van Berkel, with their personal interpretations of the following concepts – “patterns”, “space” and “projects”. For the occasion, LG Hausys recreated a “forest” of columns in HI-MACS®, each symbolising a designer. It was surrounded by a set of mirrors, reflecting space to infinity and completely erasing the boundaries between abstraction and reality, the past and the future.

HI-MACS

Dektonhenge by Apparatu was an experimental project created by Xavier Mañosa, founder of the design studio Apparatu, which proposed a review of the origins of the ultra-compact Dekton® surfaces. Together with Cosentino’s R&D department, Mañosa put the ultra-compact surface through a ductile and malleable process. Working with Dekton® as a raw material, he explained the transformation of the material from its liquid to solid states, working in the same way as working with ceramic. The set of Dektonhenge furniture achieves the perfect balance between what the geology of our planet inspires in us and an idea by one of the most brilliant minds of European design. (www.silestone.co.uk)

Consentino