15 October 2010

The Kitchen Mogul strikes again

Anybody who spends any time around this blog knows that I love to find new finds from all over the net. I don't care if it's a new product or a new website, the amount of great content and great people out there is staggering. Well a couple of weeks ago I made the acquaintance of someone on Twitter who goes by the nom de net The Kitchen Mogul.

The Kitchen Mogul and I have struck up an enjoyable repartee on Twitter and he writes a really great blog called Kitchen Design Think Tank. The man knows what he's talking about and his experienced eye is forever combing the internet for new ideas related to kitchen design. He reminds me in a lot of way of my pal Johnny Grey, who's another one who's forever rethinking his (and my) assumptions.

I've added Kitchen Design Think Tank to my blogroll and I'm recommending giving his blog a good read. He's relatively new at all this, so pop over and say hello. He's a high-end designer who knows what he's talking about.

The Mogul sent me some photos and a description of of kitchen that won a Design Award in London last week and I'm pretty taken with it. He sent along too a description of it from the designer, Darren Morgan from Glenvale Kitchens in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The kitchen's now in a showroom in Norther Ireland but it began it's life at a trade show. Designing a single kitchen that will fit into two, wildly dissimilar spaces is a level of complication I don't even want to think about.


The kitchens broken into five work zones; consumables, non-consumables, cleaning, preparation and cooking; and it has a real, 750 liter aquarium in its back splash.





I love how seamlessly it fits into the room it's in and I am completely taken with that island.

From the designer:
I wanted this kitchen to literally come alive within the architecture surrounding it while still performing beyond expectation on functional level.

My aim is to encourage a relationship between user and kitchen right down to knowing the names of the fish and having the functionality tailored to the user’s lifestyle.

The remotely operated doors and custom made aquarium breathe life into this kitchen while the island introduces softer geometry and mood setting colour.  This kitchen fits any social occasion or time of day and can sit in a "Standby" and an "In Use" position!

Achieving ergonomic efficiency and aesthetical satisfaction on every level is the reason for this design.

Technology:

A Servo Drive electric opening system is used on all doors and drawers. This includes the only remotely operated opening system for wall units available in the world (At the time of design).

The aquarium heating, lighting, filtration and circulation systems use the most efficient technology available.

Innovation:

Kitchen aquariums are common, a living splash back is not!

The island is unconventional introducing soft geometry, energy efficient extraction and interactive lighting.

This kitchen is attempting to be evolutionary in that it is completely functional, completely automated, can be in a standby or an in-use position and offers entertainment and companionship to the user.
I'll take two! Many thanks to The Kitchen Mogul and his blog Kitchen Design Think Tank for passing all that along. Now go pay him a visit and tell him I said hello.

6 comments:

  1. Gorgeous... right up to the point where that aquarium needs to be cleaned. Somehow I doubt that I could con the hubby into doing that for me

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  2. Apparently, the tank and filter are readily accessible from the front side of the tank. Maybe I can get the designer to poke his head in here and defend himself.

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  3. Love the innovation of this kitchen. Is that a retractable vent over the cooktop?

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  4. Yes it is and the extractor's on a servo motor so it retracts silently. There's some really great thinking going on in this room.

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  5. Magnificent!!!! I am speechless. I love viewing such innovated design.

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  6. I'm glad this has struck a chord. The designers in the UK are really onto something big. Kitchen Design Think Tank highlights most of them and no he's not paying me to say that.

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