The bulthaup b3 monoblock: Born of a passion for flawless design and superlative functionality.

The island version of the monoblock becomes the room’s hub of communication: It’s where people gather to cook, to eat and to enjoy.

Enthusiastic cooks and discerning gourmets have known this for a long time: A good meal is not judged on the number of ingredients it uses. Fewer, more carefully-selected ingredients make the dish a true delight in terms of both appearance and flavor. As Laozi, the Chinese scholar and philosopher once wrote: “Richness lies in simplicity and refinement”. This is a piece of wisdom on which fine dishes and good design are based.

But how is it possible to simplify and refine objects that have already been developed in line with a consistently minimalist approach? This is a question that has occupied generations of designers. Their most successful answers have unleashed strong emotions across every era. “This car clearly fell from heaven,” enthused the French philosopher Roland Barthes, upon seeing the new Citroën DS in 1955. Cut to a scene over 50 years later. We’re not on the road, but rather in the kitchen, the communicational hub of the living space. Right at the heart of this hub of domestic life is a monolith. It radiates a gentle, inviting, shimmering light from its flawless, perfect surface. It exudes reserved elegance yet magically attracts the eye: The new bulthaup b3 monoblock, a pleasure that is as functional as it is sensual.

From a distance, this quite astonishing rectangle looks like a sculpture or one of the room’s architectural features. As you draw closer, its true role – that of an innovative kitchen island – becomes apparent. Its use of form is pared down to the essentials, with no unnecessary details to distract the eye of the beholder or the hand of the user. Side walls and the worktop are bonded together seamlessly, looking for the entire world as though they were made from a single mold.

Every bulthaup b3 monoblock is a one-off piece. It is rigorously planned in line with the user’s needs and adapted to the actual room

in question’s architecture – the proportions must, after all, match. The dimensions for the carcase can be selected at will. There are base unit elements, front materials and colors available from the entire b3 range for the kitchen block. The doors and deep storage drawers made from wood, aluminum, paint or laminate, offer rich contrasts. But the stainless steel fronts also create a very dramatic effect in combination with the stainless steel carcase, highlighting the monolithic appearance.

Functions such as hobs or water points – or indeed a combination of the two – can be integrated in line with the client’s wishes. The seamless finish of the stainless steel rectangle is brought particularly effectively to the fore if the customer chooses an island that can also be supplemented with seating. Of course, the functional sculpture can also be situated against the wall. But whatever version the customer chooses, the monoblock will without doubt be the kitchen’s new eye-catcher.  This is where everyone gathers to talk, to eat together and to cook.

The perfect finish and the skilled composition of the high-quality materials form the basis of the monoblock’s quality, functionality and also its sensuality. It is pleasant to touch and boasts a sculptured appearance. Its purist profile remains contemporary, even after decades have gone by. At the same time, the monoblock offers an architectural solution that goes far beyond the kitchen as merely a work area: It becomes one of the key design-related elements of the kitchen living space, turning it into a place of communication and conviviality and breaking down the invisible separation between living and cooking.