K+BB - October 2008 - (Page 22)

Focus Design Driven The auto industry offers a fresh product perspective The kitchen and bath industry is no stranger to collaboration. But while partnerships typically occur between manufacturers and celebrity designers—take, for instance, the work of Philippe Starck for Duravit and Axor—another more exotic alliance has been taking place—that of the kitchen/bath company and the luxury car manufacturer/designer. So, why the connection between these two somewhat disparate entities? In a word, reputation. Known for creating sleek, sexy, state-ofthe-art machines, high-end car manufacturers and designers are offering more than just a car they’re selling status and, for some, the dream. And for kitchen and bath companies looking to reach new ranks of consumers, partnerships with the stars of the automobile industry can bring the same sense of craftsmanship and sex appeal to their brand. For Poggenpohl, collaboration with Porsche Design for its P’7340 kitchen was appealing due to “their reputation for design, technology, performance and quality, as well as their loyal customer following,” said Ted Chappell, president of Poggenpohl U.S., Inc. For other companies, such as Pedini, which is producing a Lamborghini kitchen (available Q1 2009), the partnership also “connects two great names,” explained Amir Ilin, the company’s sales manager for North and Central America, and establishes a bond between like-minded firms with similar values and philosophies. NEW HORIZONS But behind the famous names is a history of innovation, and of creating products from an entirely different and, according to Chappell, “untainted” perspective. Snaidero, which has worked with Pininfarina (the Italian design house of Ferrari fame) for many years on its kitchens, including Ola, Viva (no longer in production), Idea, Acropolis and Venus, wished to “break the traditional mold to offer products that would feature the very best in technological innovation and cutting-edge design, to find new creative solutions to the organization of life in the kitchen,” said Dario Snaidero, president and CEO of Snaidero USA. Pininfarina Extra, Pininfarina’s industrial design studio, has been busy in the kitchen and bath arena, establishing relationships with not only Snaidero, but Jacuzzi (for its Morphosis line) and Gorenje (for its Pininfarina Black Collection of appliances), too. In addition, Scavolini partnered with Giugiaro Design, creator of popular models for Alfa Romeo, BMW and Fiat, for its Flux kitchen. INSPIRED DESIGNS All of these collaborations have borne some truly inspiring products, some of which embody the essence of the automobile. Poggenpohl’s Porsche kitchen uses aluminum titanium, carbon fiber is used in Scavolini’s Flux kitchen and Snaidero’s round Acropolis kitchen f e a t u r e s a “ s a n d w i c h e d , ” l i g h t w eight aluminum structure. The refrigerator in Gorenje’s Numerous companies have partnered with Pininfarina (the Italian design house of Ferrari fame). One of them is Jacuzzi, whose resulting Morphosis line includes the Alpha tub (left). Located near luxury car painting facilities, Bertazzoni has its ranges (inset) painted alongside Lamborghinis, Ducatis and Ferrari components. Continued on page 24 22 + K BB October 2008 / www.kbbonline.com / The Ofﬁcial Sponsor of K/BIS www.kbis.com http://www.kbbonline.com http://www.kbis.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of K+BB - October 2008

K+BB - October 2008
Contents
Online Contents
Online News
Editorial
Feedback
Dates
Digits
Focus
Consumer
Trends
Products
Options
Profile
Design
Paradise Found
Graded on a Curve
Green
Access
Additions
Practice
Education
Editorial Index
Ad Index
Favorites

K+BB - October 2008