Our talented young designer Liam, has been at the KBB show in Birmingham this week unveiling a concept kitchen, of which, he has been heavily involved with the design.
Here is what Liam had to say about the kitchen:
“Rob Mascari, a kitchen designer and one of the lecturers on the kitchen design degree I’m doing, had the idea of designing a concept kitchen for the millennial generation. He approached three students on the course to help with the design, which was to be unveiled at the KBB 2020 Show at the N.E.C Birmingham.
Natalie, Alice & myself together with Rob and his wife Sam, came up with the ECOMO kitchen.
Millennials are also known as ‘generation rent’, so in reality, the kitchen would be aimed at property developers & landlords, for student housing or rental flats.
The name ECOMO comes from the three main focuses of the design: Ecological, Compact & Modular.
ECOLOGICAL – Sustainability is something that is a high priority for many millennials, and something that I believe should be a major concern for everyone, particularly designers & manufacturers. We have used FSC/PEFC certified birch-ply for the carcasses and doors, recycled Corian for the worksurfaces, and other elements such as the Quooker tap, which is considerably more sustainable than a typical kettle. There would also be a companion app that would suggest recipes based on the food you have, in order to minimise waste and promote ecological living.
COMPACT – My specific area of research was the spatial requirements. The sizing of the ECOMO kitchen is very deliberate to fit within the vast majority of flats or apartments. I also conducted research into what a typical millennial would like within the kitchen, and it became apparent we needed to fit a lot into a small space. There is an oven, induction hob, extractor, dishwasher, washing machine, sink, bin, full sized fridge freezer, prep-space, shelving, a cupboard, and eight drawers of variable depths all within a run of 3.5 meters.
MODULAR – This has two parts, ECOMO is designed to be quick and easy to install and is also customizable. The accessories on the back panel can be moved around to the users liking, and different accessories would be available via the companion app. The customizable back panel would also be available as an end panel for when the kitchen is not between two walls. The kitchen is 2.2 meters tall, this will fit under most ceilings, but for particularly high ones you could purchase wall units to go on top and increase storage, and with a built-in step, access would not be an issue. We also discussed the possibility of a matching island, which the user could buy when space allows, it would be on wheels making it very dynamic and negating any need for installation.
Throughout the duration of the show, it became apparent to me that this has the potential to become so much more than was originally intended. I spoke to several people who do not fall into the millennial demographic but really loved the kitchen: A developer of eco-homes, a builder of tiny houses, a lady who is involved with developing retirement homes, and another lady who works for a charity converting shipping containers into houses for the homeless, all of whom saw potential for this in their respective fields.
The ECOMO kitchen was received far better than any of us could imagine, a few people even said it was their favourite exhibition at the show, and we had attention from several members of the press and media, including Design Magazine, KBB Review, and the KBB Podcast.”
Take a look at a few photos of the kitchen below!
