Kitchen 2017: Visions become Reality Space Savers, Diversity of Taste and Smart Home - just started

Transcription

1 Kirk Mangels, Managing Director, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Die Moderne Küche e.v. (AMK), Association for Modern Kitchens made the following statement on the occasion of the press breakfast at LivingKitchen 2017 in Cologne on 17 January 2017: Kitchen 2017: Visions become Reality Space Savers, Diversity of Taste and Smart Home - just started Since its inception just 90 years ago, the modern kitchen has been the most rapidly evolving element within the homes. Within the kitchen, nothing has stayed the same. If the pace of innovation continues at this historical rate, we will be able to see the following reality within the next 15 years: AMK's log. LivingKitchen is heading for the future. We are in the year 2030: A man is sitting at a height-adjustable countertop featuring an integrated, invisible induction hob. The steam cooker is heating high-vitamin food. A portable high performance LED light illuminates the room. The smartphone receives an order confirmation; the refrigerator has autonomously sent an order to the grocery store, after the last yoghurt had been taken out. The yoghurts are delivered by drone. The dishwasher has just completed a cycle and displays its energy consumption. The kitchen's battery array is automatically being charged via solar panels on the roof. Soft music begins to emanate from the wall unit and the light changes to warmer colours. The apartment door opens by itself, and a few moments later, a woman enters the kitchen. Table and chairs are extended, and the couple starts to eat. For dessert, they look up a recipe on the internet and quickly order the ingredients together with another order. Comparing the ingested calories with their daily activities, they enjoy a glass of white wine, delivered at optimal temperature via a separate refrigerator outlet. A fitting appears above 1 Arbeitsgemeinschaft Die Moderne Küche e.v. (AMK) Harrlachweg Mannheim, Germany Phone: +49 (0) Fax: +49 (0) Web info@amk.de Please send voucher copy to: AMK press office Reprint and utilization permitted. AMK will be happy to provide further text images on request.

2 one of the sinks, and the integrated scanner recommends using the energy-efficient dishwasher instead of rinsing by hand. Two cups of coffee are produced by touching the smartphone, which is currently being inductively charged on the countertop. Leaving the kitchen, the couple receives a report on today's energy consumption, and a small robotic vacuum cleaner immediately appears and begins to clean the floor. The shutters close automatically and the light is switched off. Many of these concepts are becoming more likely; many are already being trialled, some of them are already marketable. LivingKitchen 2017 is going to whet your appetite: for the future, for innovation, for quantum leaps in engineering and for healthier food. Before turning our eye towards the future, let us first take a look at current trends. As we already know, the present economic situation of our sector is more than satisfactory. The outlook appears positive as well. On the basis of predicted building permits in Germany, with a rise of 6 per cent in housing construction (ifo Institute for Economic Research), we can expect a further rise in demand for modern kitchens. This is due to new construction usually being accompanied by purchase of a new kitchen. Looking at the export performance of our kitchen appliances and kitchen furniture reveals another excellent outlook. And here at the LivingKitchen 2017, everything looks very promising as well. With 201 companies, registrations have substantially exceeded our expectations. Three exhibition halls, fully booked with an excellent blend of kitchen furniture makers, electrical appliance manufacturers and kitchen accessories suppliers. Our international kitchen event LivingKitchen meets all requirements for a very successful exhibition. AMK conducted a survey of its members prior to LivingKitchen to capture new trends regarding kitchens and electrical appliances. What can we expect? How will our language of form develop? What is here to stay and what is not? 2

3 In general, individual diversity will still be a trend. In this regard, we are mostly looking at dimensions and colours, arrangements and variants. The modern kitchen is therefore built according to taste, space, personal preference and budget, a tailored solution instead of mass-produced monotony. Generally, the following priorities can be seen in the kitchen industry's choice of products for 2017: The open-plan kitchen In new buildings, more than 25 per cent of Germans are living in a wallfree "cooking-eating-living" space. Open-plan kitchens are getting more popular, combining kitchen and dining spaces, adjacent to the open living room. This creates a spacious living experience. The functional surface kitchen in new constructions is growing. On the other hand, due to the ongoing urbanisation, the demand for small, full-featured kitchens is growing. Especially in German cities with their increasing rents, singleincome households are switching their preference to smaller, affordable living spaces. This results in smaller pieces of household furniture as well as smaller kitchens. A plethora of multifunctional concepts such as extending countertops, folding tables, inner door shelves etc. enables to create nearly miraculous space savers. The kitchen must be capable of being adapted to every situation. It needs to be convenient and functional, yet beautiful and attractive. Fronts and countertops must be easy to clean, there must be plenty of storage space for implements, and good lighting is required to illuminate the countertops and facilitate food preparation as well as to promote the general mood. And all of this needs to be set up with ergonomically fitting heights, short routes, good ventilation, low energy consumption and with a stylish overall design. The appearance The current product range of kitchens is just as diverse as people's tastes. Thus, you will find modern, minimalistic kitchens as well as more traditional country-style kitchens here at LivingKitchen. Combining kitchen furniture and living room furniture or vice versa is a new trend. In this regard, open-plan kitchen design additionally benefits the target group: benches, sideboards and platforms will fit everywhere, not just 3

4 into one certain room. Kitchens can be set up more comfortable and cosier congenial to the concept of the kitchen as the soul of home. A certain sense of romantic atmosphere might play a role here as well, since many people find the outside world already cold and stiff enough. People enjoy retreating to a cosy, trusted and enduring place. Between these two extremes, however, there is a great number of variations, as the trend towards customisation shows. This enables every customer to design his own preferred kitchen. The current product range of kitchen furniture employs mostly varnished fronts. Both matt varnish as well as varnished laminate are popular. High-gloss varnish is decreasing in popularity; wood and wood look are maintaining their popularity. Considering colours, white and grey remain strong traditional choices. When it comes to grey colours, the concrete look is highly favoured by some target groups, yet remains a niche within the big picture. Combinations of different front colour schemes and materials are generally popular. Especially favoured are combinations of a matt single stage varnish and real wood veneer or matt single stage varnished laminate and wood imitation. Solid wood kitchens are preferred among highly health-conscious target groups, but are far from being mainstream products. The trend towards black is still ongoing. Black is being used for electrical appliances such as ovens and stoves, for fitting solutions, for interior elements and for ceramic sinks as well as for complete cabinet and refrigerator fronts. Materials employed here encompass printed glass, varnish and laminate as well as slate. There is also a rather strong trend towards ceramic or ceramic-look countertops. Ceramic sinks are equally important and popular. Ruggedness and longevity are the main benefits of this traditional material. Furthermore, for this year's LivingKitchen it has been possible to fit a fully functional, invisible induction hob below a ceramic countertop. This innovation will certainly lead to widespread adoption. It will totally change the classical kitchen arrangement, and it will certainly be a must-have for purists and neatness enthusiasts. Solid surface materials are exceptionally popular when it comes to countertops. There is also a trend towards the use of stone finishes and 4

5 granite. The use of stainless steel, glass and real wood, however, is decreasing. The arrangement The average height of people keeps increasing while proportions are changing. For people who enjoy cooking, an optimised arrangement and height of countertops are of paramount importance. Therefore, in almost all cases, a free-standing counter, accessible from all sides, is preferred. This counter is often vertically adjustable in order to be used as a bar table as well. Often, the wall units are mounted along a single wall. Due to increases in storage optimisation, this is sufficient in most cases. All available space is utilised and every floor unit equipped with an intelligent drawer system or, in corners, with a carousel-type system. Skilled retailers can facilitate longevity by discussing and calculating current and future space requirements together with their customers. Especially popular are panelled walls, visually camouflaging the kitchen furniture so only their fronts can be seen. Apart from the stylish appearance, solutions of this type are exceptionally easy to clean. Ergonomic kitchen planning also encompasses the arrangement of stove and sink, if these are integrated into the kitchen unit. A distance of 90 centimetres between hob and sink facilitates an optimal workflow. This ensures that rinsed tableware does not need to be handled multiple times and gives ample space for preparing vegetables right next to the hob. The technology Raised appliances have become standard issue. They enable even amateur cooks safe and convenient access to foods prepared in the oven. Intuitive stove and oven controls simplify handling. Modern ovens usually feature a pyrolysis capability. This high-temperature self-cleaning process is bound to become the standard for every oven. Ovens with integrated microwaves or steam cookers continue to rise in popularity. The demand here seems to tend towards speed and convenience. When it comes to low-temperature food preparation however, there is a clear trend towards healthy, vitamin-conserving cooking. 5

6 Another new feature consists of LED lighting, integrated into the oven or the extractor hood. This mood lighting exemplifies the importance of a comfortable, cosy kitchen. Entirely new are sound systems that can turn every kitchen into a concert hall. These concealed electronics turn virtually every surface, whether it be stone, glass, wood or wood-based material, into an exceptional resonating body. The sound emanates directly from the wall or floor unit, the countertop or the table. No additional speakers are required a feature not only for technology enthusiasts. After all, contamination by grease vapours, for instance, is eliminated, and when it comes to protection against theft, the speaker systems are entirely invisible. Light and sound can easily be controlled remotely, quickly, comfortably and flexibly via one's own smartphone or tablet. Integrated, flush-mount induction hobs will be standard, and it quickly cooks foods through. This ensures both energy savings and vitamin preservation. Induction hobs without separate fields are still gaining popularity and will be standard issue in modern kitchens in the future. The concept of energy efficiency and energy savings has become generally accepted on the market. Electricity and water consumption is optimally reduced. LED lighting technology is employed for modern kitchen lighting, as this technology ensures long service life as well as low energy consumption. White goods are already divided into clearly delineated energy efficiency categories. The most energy-efficient products have despite the sometimes higher costs an advantage here, and they have a clear positive influence on the customer's purchase decision. Energy savings benefit both the environment and the customer's wallet, and both of these are important to people. Latest-generation fittings are multifunctional. Modern water fittings are engineering marvels, offering features from tap water filtering and carbonation to hot water generation, hand showers and water jet illumination. Smartphone, smartwatch, and smart TV. Technical equipment is steadily becoming more user-friendly and more prominent in everyday life. There are intelligent solutions for virtually all aspects of modern living, most of all, however, for the modern kitchen. Work area lighting as well as mood 6

7 lighting, refrigerator, oven, stove, steam cooker, microwave, dishwasher, toaster, mixer and a plethora of other devices are found in the modern kitchen, making their users' lives easier. The latest generation of these electrical appliances extends these basic features by control via smart terminals. Apps for tablets and smartphones, for instance, to access and control ovens and other devices are already on the market. Thus, the digital lifestyle kitchen opens up entirely new possibilities. These oven apps enable additional convenience by delivering tips and ideas for recipes, monitoring the cooking process and notifying the user when roast, cake or grilled chicken are done. This enables even novice cooks to easily hit the perfect spot. This technology might still be in its early days, but it gives us a picture of the future and its undreamt-of possibilities. When your refrigerator knows what ingredients you need and automatically sends a grocery list to your preferred online retailer, the Smart Home will be a reality. And in all likelihood, we won't have to wait until 2030 for this reality to become fact. If you wish, you can now experience the LivingKitchen for yourself. Apart from the trends I have mentioned here, there are also small culinary highlights waiting for you. Our AMK booth is situated in the passage between Hall 4 and 5, and my team as well as myself will happily answer any further questions you might have. Ladies and gentlemen, before we continue with the international topics, please allow me one final statement: today's press conference also signifies a new milestone for AMK. Starting today, the AMK Kitchen Companion will also be available as a dedicated web platform. Visit to browse our impartial, comprehensive overview regarding kitchen purchase and maintenance and the AMK kitchen standards. We are convinced that this is a great opportunity for consumers to inform themselves regarding new, modern fitted kitchens, without direct interest to sell. In front of you will find a short introductory brochure by the partners we collaborated with in the design of our website, and of course we would be happy if you would examine our website and give it a mention in your outlet. Thank you for your attention. (AMK) Cologne, 17 January