Exploration by the students of the Master in Interior & Living course of Domus Academy towards new living interior scenarios inspired by the Valcucine product and philosophy.

During the workshop, the students, divided into groups and guided by the mentorship of Aoi Hasegawa, Programme Leader of Domus Academy, and by the Project Leaders Marina Baracs and Laura Micalizzi, discussed the exploration of new living scenarios context in line with our innovation and sustainability values.

Metamorphosis

According to Valcucine, the kitchen is a dynamic place that adapts to the requirements of the users as they evolve – how can it do that?

What will be the priorities in our lives in the coming 5, 10, 20 years?

The kitchen is a place that follows our steps with time, and as clients mutate and mature during their life paths, the kitchen needs to change and accommodate new arising needs, as well as upcoming technologies. In today’s society we are evermore used to seeing the house as a space that should always adapt and renew itself to upcoming scenarios. This inspired a mood board that uncovers the idea of evolution and metamorphosis in all fields, especially artistic and mythological. Going from Ovidio to Escher and Delveaux, while also investigating the architectures, the theme of metamorphoses is well tied to this project. An extensive research on the spaces of Torre Velasca was carried out. The tower represents the emblem of Italian post-war architecture and is a clear example of evolution and metamorphosis, dragging design and functional inspiration from mediaeval towers. This allowed us to play with shapes and functions of the Velasca spaces and transferred these to our kitchen designs: angular walls, mechanical elements, sharp edges. The chosen spaces were investigated within this project for three different stages of life: Single, set today (Dafne); Couple, set in 5-10 years (Callisto); Family, set in 15-20 years (Proserpina). Working on the floor plans for the setting, a careful zoning for each stage of life was made. Flows, lighting and spaces change according to the needs of who lives in the house at that moment. The kitchen always finds itself to be the convivial epicentre of every scenario, at the heart of each floor plan, thus remaining the real focus of the project.

Authors:
Lindblad Tomas
Machado Daniella
Kucukay Irmak
Kurumbay Ipek

Hide-Out

Our vision for the project is to re-imagine kitchen scenarios that enhance the experience of the space itself. We, have designed the kitchen to be a central focus and the most interactive space of the house. Nestled in a mountainous valley. While designed to capture the unfamiliar and deeply touching experience of nature, we also wanted people just to calm down and listen to the sound of nature. Our Airbnb is a prefabricated compact module where life revolves around the kitchen. The view acts as a natural backdrop as if one were in an amphitheatre having a good show. The design is modern and is set to change the way we look at kitchens, each of which contains ideas and accessories purposely designed to meet specific requirements. We want to create a language that connects but also brings excitement with a new experience.

Authors:
Nikita Choksy
Mishti Shah
Kanaka Joshi
Adela Garcia

Invisible Kitchen

The kitchen island is inspired by two different ideas: coexistence, harmony between humans and nature, and seamless design, which makes it almost invisible. To accomplish this, the design language is influenced by Italian cuisine, which features a single dominant ingredient around which the flavour revolves. Similarly, our invisible kitchen has a single dominant material. Using a single material allows us to create seamless design elements, which relates to Valcucine’s philosophy of invisibility. The round island can be customised to the user’s specifications, allowing them to select different sizes, materials, and finishes. This invisible kitchen island can be placed in various settings such as a small apartment, a studio apartment, or a villa in a suburban setting, as shown in the renders, allowing us to broaden our target audience.

Authors:
Alara Bilgen
Drashti Shah
Sabina Trublova
Sagarika Appanaickenpatti Premanand

Co-existence

An open kitchen ready to converse with the surrounding area is unveiled. The aim of this project is to design a kitchen that co-exists with nature. Another important aspect is that its design is adaptable in both contemporary and traditional Milanes houses. Our idea was to design a multifunctional space taking into consideration the current scenario.

Authors:
Nidhi Surana
Siddhi Shah
Padmaswaruoa Venkatesh

Smart Kitchen

Population and life costs are increasing everyday so this will make the living environments smaller in future just like how it is in high populated countries. With entering the pandemic age with the coronavirus we believe that in future we will spend more time in our homes.

This caused people to start spending more time in their kitchens and not only for cooking but also for working and studying. Due to this we believe that in future people will work more from their homes so the working environment will be more crucial in home designs. According to these two statements we designed a minimalisman kitchen that can also be used as a home office.

Authors:
Ece Eriş
Melis Yalçın
Zeynep Başak Domaniç
Eda Tüfekçioğlu

Inside/Out

The sustainable design of Inside/outside for Valcucine seamlessly combines indoor and outdoor spaces. We used strong, long-lasting materials to create a timeless design. Using Energy Star certified equipment and LED lighting, the kitchen was created with energy efficiency in mind. Large sliding glass doors in the internal kitchen connect it to an outside gathering space, making it simple to expand the cooking and dining areas during the warmer months. A sustainable grill and a rainwater collecting system are included in the outside area. The rainwater is then utilized to irrigate the garden in the space. The space is ideal for both cooking and entertaining because to the overall functional, long-lasting, and low maintenance design.

Authors:
Valeria Belousova
Khalid Ajran
Patapong Likitkettanon
Patchara Sriyukrat

Valcucine Kitchen Lab

With Valcucine Cooking Lab, we create a non – fragile and innovative surrounding for cooking lessons, in wich anyone can have fun and a good expierence while cooking in a luxurious valcucine kitchen, experimenting the unique technology, materials and design the brand offers. Cooking lessons are offered in a space just outside the city, with a host chef with Valcucine products first hand, by actually using them during the class, in addition to a bar area for wine testing and a shop, designed following the concept of Valcucines collection Genius Loci.
Also the intention of the place it´s to stay connected always to the brand, serving as a merchandising expierence for potential clients,unlike the showroom, here people can touch, cook, clean, see how this great kitchen works in this cooking lab.

Authors:
Karla Erbes
Mariana Pier
Zoe Schuster
Noor Isa
Pelinnaz Guzelsozlu

POP-UP Kitchen

We started this project, which we carried out in cooperation with Valcucine, by determining the brand identity. Our first aim was to create a design that would respond to customer criteria and designs. After making the analysis, our first goal was to get the most suitable and applicable result for the brand we work with our project coordinator with individual revisions and to present our original concept and design. In line with these purposes, we have presented our pop-up kitchen design as a design that can both carry the brand identity and reflect our own ideas in order to benefit from the privileges of Milan as a location and to reach more people.

Authors:
Ridhi Takkar
Ananya Shinde
Dila Er
Zehui Xu
Ruiyan He