The Best Kitchens

Individual and made to measure

Now that the season is becoming colder and darker outside, working in the kitchen and sitting around the table with friends is fun once more. Just the right time to devote ourselves to the subject of kitchens. The traditional 'domain of the housewife', in which nowadays more and more men are to be found playing with high-tech equipment, has for some time now been a central place to congregate and is far removed from the image of an aseptic, functional white tiled room.

As a result it is entirely appropriate that the "Häuser" (Homes) magazine has, together with the manufacturers Gaggenau, organised a competition among architects and interior designers for the design of a kitchen that would "succeed not just on the basis of its functionality and technical refinement but also set new standards in terms of design and room quality - an individual kitchen which is fully adapted to the personal requirements of its users, regardless of whether it's in a single apartment or loft, detached house or holiday home.“

From the 100 entries the 3 prize winners and 27 further kitchens were selected for this book and are presented with excellent photographs, the main data such as cost, size in square metres, materials and floor plans.

And it's all rounded off by a recipe provided by Philippe Starck: "oeufs à la coque, three eggs cooked for exactly three minutes and ten seconds, one served with caviar, one with white truffles and one with sea urchin.“

 

An almost floating, gray lacquered 4.25 m long cooking island forms the core of the living area, while at the same time the surface finish and colour match the walls of the pantry and the fireplace.

 

The 15-cm thick granite worktop highlights the monolithic character of this otherwise mobile container kitchen, a cooperation between the owner of the property, the architect and a sculptor.