Electrolux explores the future of food with design students, Madhavi Tumkur reports.
January 14th, 2010
The kitchen, which once housed an open fire and was at the heart of every household was revolutionised by a cooking stove. But what will its future evolve into?
Ask any brand about where the future of design lies and they will say – with today’s youth.
Though here is the twist: observing the demographics, a number of countries in Asia, Europe and the USA are faced with an unprecedented ageing population.
Thus, if the youth are to model the future, their designs must apply to the aged. This poses a new dynamic to the design field.
Home appliances company Electrolux, embarked on a collaborative course with 39 students from Singapore’s leading design schools to create kitchen concepts for the silver generation.
“Singapore, among other developed nations, has a large and growing silver generation of those over 60. In 2050, one in five Singaporeans will belong to this group,” says Pernilla Johansson, Design Director Asia Pacific, Electrolux.
“Aside from having a high spending power, the brand conscious, tech savvy generation will want products and gadgets that are attractive and trendy. At the same time, being >60 means certain physical limitations pertaining to sight, mobility, hearing, handling; even memorising and remembering,” she states.
The >60 kitchen concept program connected the two generations via a visionary approach to bring some futuristic concepts to the fore.
“Quism” enables people to interact and cook with others through an online social group network via a water screen while “Flashback” uses camera and recording functions to record how a user prepares a meal and guide users through the entire process in playback mode.
The authentic and traditional ways of cooking on the other hand were preserved by the “Back to Basic” kitchen concept that consists of an automatic ‘sniffer’ to gauge the freshness of spices and a pounder arm that can crush herbs and spices.
As we look into the future it exhibits a delightful mix of old traditions and new technology and the hearth is at the heart of the interaction between baby boomers and Gen X.
Electrolux
electrolux.com.au
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Sub-Zero and Wolf’s prestigious Kitchen Design Contest (KDC) has celebrated the very best in kitchen innovation and aesthetics for three decades now. Recognising premier kitchen design professionals from around the globe, the KDC facilitates innovation, style and functionality that pushes boundaries.
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From morning to evening, Brisbane Indesign has a packed schedule of events to inspire and entice you.
World-leading Japanese Architect Toyo Ito will be in Australia for two presentations as part of the Australian Institute of Architects’ International Speaker Series.
The first presentation, in Melbourne, will follow a live radio broadcast from the team at RRR’s The Architects program in the recently opened Melbourne Recital Centre.
The award-winning architect has requested that all proceeds from the event go to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal and there will also be a collection on the night.
Melbourne – Tuesday 17 February 8pm, Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre. Tune in to The Architects special broadcast at 7pm, via the live stream at rrr.org.au or 102.7FM (Melbourne and environs).
Sydney – Thursday 19 February 6:30pm, Theatre Royal, MLC Centre
Book your tickets here now.
Entries are now open for INDE.Awards, the Indo-Pacific’s first and only regional design awards program. Here’s your easy guide to entry.
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