20
www.thedesignermagazine.com Cover Feature
A Study of
Simple
Complexity
Kitchen appliance designers regard the environment as a key pressure in the coming years, but
green-machines need ever smarter sensors and elaborate controls. Will mere humans ever again
understand how to cook a chicken? William Knight finds out
It
is easy to imagine the kitchen of Understanding tomorrow’s
the future. After all, what is left to consUmer
understand about how to store, prepare Alessandro Finetto is responsible for the
and cook food? We have everything we European wing of Whirlpool’s consumer
can possibly need, and more, in the way design and usability labs. In accordance
of kitchen technology. Future kitchens with the brand, his team must understand
will look as they do now... surely? today’s consumer and predict what he or
And yet designers perpetually seek she will be tomorrow.
out new concepts and ideas for your “We organise an exploration design
delight. Who else would have foreseen activity. these are not products that
the success of the sandwich toaster or the need to be in the market, but we need
cunning of a dishwasher in a drawer but to explore and see different scenarios.
those closely involved in pleasing their this is done with a customer focus, and
customers and marketing departments. that is where the technology story may
Because it is clearly not just about come in. If there is a special opportunity
need, says, Enzo Balestrazzi, president of or challenge, then we can say ‘here we
Baumatic. “We don’t really need a remote need a completely new technology’,” says
control for the tV, but most people Finetto.
nowadays wouldn’t buy one without.” One such challenge – and Finetto
“I would say the future kitchen will says this is perhaps his biggest single
become more synergised, with appliances focus at present – is the escalating
working in tandem,” he adds, explaining environmental concern in both consumer
how the counter-intuitive idea of a demand and regulation.
fridge-oven can actually have benefits in “One of the latest projects that we
certain circumstances. “An oven that is have just presented is called Green
also a fridge would enable you to place Kitchen. this is one of the trends – if
a dish in the fridge in the morning, then it can be called a trend – talk about
swap from fridge to oven an hour before sustainability. Everybody is working to
you get home, so that you arrive to a save energy.”
hot dinner.” the strategy allays fears of Hotpoint designer Makio Hasuike
a germ infestation while your raw food agrees that ‘going green’ is driving
waits for the oven timer to click on, he innovation in the kitchen. “Given the
explains. concern we all have with the environment,
Kitchen Tech p.indd 20 22/7/08 09:53:01
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