From living tress to living spaces

The most creative material in the world is growing, almost without our help, and it’s doing it completely silently. It’s a material that puts the living quality of all other materials completely in the shade –wood. Wood is a piece of nature. It breathes. It lives. It radiates comforting warmth, has a positive impact on the room’s atmosphere and offers limitless design options. With its grain, color, warmth and small, the wood we live with stimulates our senses. And in these fast-changing times, it soothes our longing for calm. High-quality wooden furniture moves with you, and often develops into favorite heirlooms fro generation after generation. Maybe it’s because it can tell stories? Haven’t’ we all stood at some point in front of a secretaire, touching its intarsia work lovingly and thinking how much this old piece of furniture must have seen, heard and experiences over its life?

Wood is like us –individual, No two pieces of wood are the same, not even wood of the same type. As a result, furniture bears the unmistakable mark of the tree from which it is made. And that’s what stimulates and inspires bulthaup to do justice to this vitality with its furniture. It’s a process that involves searching for that special character and expressing it to the full in the kitchen. At the focal point of it all stands our love and respect for wood.

The path from the tree to the kitchen is a long one. But at bulthaup, it doesn’t lead through a deep jungle or tropical forest. We only use cultivation areas that are managed sustainably. We don’t use wood from tropical rainforest either. After all, you don’t have to go the ends of the earth to find wood. They can actually be right under your nose – such as elm, apple and Swiss pear.

The elm used to grace classical sideboards until the wood finally became scorned as “conservative” and drifted into oblivion. Added to this was the fact that Duth elm disease was also felling most elm trees. Today, the elm has once again reclaimed its position in contemporary design, for example as sensual gray or russet foil to stainless steel surfaces. The wood of the apple tree also sets stunning accents. On the meadow, it’s a common-place. But in the home, it’s still something rather exotic. That’s because its veneer is extremely difficult to process. The cracked and irregular raw material takes a lot of experience. But it’s worth it, since with careful craftsmanship; the apple tree can enrich ant living space. The front is a unique piece, the structure a pure collection of contrast – an exciting switch between fiery-dark and fine-grained light components.

And there’s another tree bursting with rich fruits – the Swiss pear tree. Because of the climatic conditions and the fact that they grow wild, the trees are Eastern Switzerland feature a lively, straight grain. Cabinetmakers have always been enthralled by the wood, which is completely different from conventional pear wood. In the 1950s, Swiss pear was so scarce that it was almost impossible to get hold of. A replacement was searched for –and found- in the related service tree. It’s warm-colored grain is indistinguishable from that of the original pear tree from Switzerland. And that’s why service trees have become known in the trade as Swiss pear trees.

An Asian version, which features a natural and high-quality appearance, is bamboo. With a velvety-matt surface, it has a thin, striped veneer with knots, known as nodes. The American walnut has a reduced and noble effect, with its simple grain and fine, natural gray color.

At bulthaup, a special natural wood varnish- containing a type of light protection factor –protects the veneer against the effects of light and preserves the walnut’s delightful feel.

Every kitchen begins with its veneer picture. It creates the unmistakable appearance of the room. The structure must run precisely from top to bottom and from left to right. Just like a tree. That’s why choosing the veneer calls for a sharp eye and strict quality standards. But we don’t want to bore you with that just now. The result is far more exciting. Take a look around you. And make the history of tree part of your own kitchen’s history.

It is a pleasure for us to present the first issue of “bulthaup culture.” The new bulthaup magazine strives to explore and share our brand’s values, which we are confident our readers and customers will find interesting and inspiring.

The content has been selected and conceived for an audience that lives in many different cultures, featuring great social and regional diversity–and covering a range of different generations. Ultimately, it is aimed at a multicultural readership.

Our publication features stories about cooking and pleasure, about people who work at bulthaup with passion and expert craftsmanship beyond the boundaries of machines, and about fascinating personalities endowed with exquisite taste, a quality they share with the bulthaup brand.

“If you attach the right value to items and show them due respect, enjoyment of them becomes important. It is not about the kind of enjoyment we know today–the kind that is more closely related to status symbols and luxury–but about true well-being and the veritable skill of enjoying life to the full.” Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food movement (from the Slow Food magazine, 5/2011)

This first issue will focus on several subjects, one of which is particularly engaging: how a tradition is born. The article describes behaviors that are defined by a generation, but also products with a timeless aesthetic and a flawless design that pass on from one generation to the next.

Founding a new tradition, by Marc O. Eckert CEO, bulthaup:

“You may be familiar with the saying  ‘Tradition does not mean guarding the ashes, but fanning the embers.’ This expresses the notion that tradition need not involve fearfully holding onto what is gone; it can imply forging a direct connection to a new cultural source of inspiration.”

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“Innovation is not about following the zeitgeist. Innovation is about defying it” Marc O. Eckert. CEO, bulthaup

It’s more than a way of organizing your kitchen: it’s a composition of your choosing.

With bulthaup b3 interior elements, you can showcase your creativity on a whole new stage. The break away from the conventionally rigid structures within drawers and pull-outs, and grant you the utmost freedom in your kitchen design.

The fantastically simple idea behind the interior elements allows you to reorganize the space within the drawers with ease and speed, time and again. There are countless possibilities for storing, tidying and positioning the items you become the conductor of your own kitchen composition. Your ideas and personal cooking style are all that counts.

Functionality fuses with intuition, and creates a completely new way of working. The result is a system that is adaptable, sensuous, and truly distinct. This way, you can arrange your cutlery, kitchen tools, utensils and accessories exactly as you wish.

The bulthaup b3 system of interior elements is based on distinctive functional prims. The horizontal nature of the prims in the drawers and pull-outs creates an entirely new and fascinating look, greater transparency of organization, and exceptional ergonomics, with easy access from both right-and left-handed users.

With the functional prims, you can position your accessories and utensils exactly as you desire and be certain that they will not slide out of place. Even if the pull-outs are opened abruptly, the contents remain where they are. You arrange your own space- using themed zones, for example, or according to what you feel looks best. We offer a variety of materials: you can choose from an oak or walnut veneer, polished stainless steel, or a soft-feel, anthracite-colored synthetic material.

Sliding dividers in three sizes compartmentalize the functional prims. They can be moved to multiple positions, and rearranged time and again, to provide you with precisely the spaces you require. The result is a pull-out interior that is as flexible as you are creative.

Visit our website to find your distributor:

bulthaup.es

We are pleased to announce the second edition of the “b for bulthaup” gastronomy prize. The award was granted at an event held at bulthaup Madrid.

The prize went to Montia restaurant, located in San Lorenzo del Escorial.

Montia’s masterminds, chefs Daniel Ochoa and Luis Moreno, received the “b for bulthaup” award from a jury panel that included the following members:

Teresa Sapey (architect and interior designer)

Juan Duyos (fashion designer)

Manuel Blanco (professor at the Universidad Politécnica in Madrid)

Soledad Lorenzo (art expert)

Manuel Muga (Vice President of Bodegas Muga winery)

Julia Pérez (journalist)

Quim Vila (owner of Vila Viniteca)

Anatxu Zabalbeascoa (journalist)

Edgar González (architect)

José Ribagorda (journalist)

Rubén Picado and Maria José de Blas (architects)

Enric Pastor (editor-in-chief of AD magazine)

Iván Cuní (bulthaup Country Manager).

Last year, chefs Oriol Castro, Mateu Casañas, and Eduard Xatruch, from Compartir restaurant in Cadaqués, were the first winners of the “b for bulthaup” award. The event was held in Barcelona.

Few things are as captivating as the union of perfection and humility, a combination that elevates design to spiritual heights. This is precisely what architects Bruno Taut and John Pawson experienced when they visited the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, considered by many as the prototype of harmonious spatial layout.

All bulthaup products fit into the aesthetic and functionalist tradition cultivated in Scandinavia, Japan, and the United States, in keeping with the German Bauhaus.

“Humility and freedom through the greatest possible simplicity” were the words Bruno Taut used to describe the art of focusing on the essentials. In bulthaup b1, this art is materialized in a carefully conceived system based on a few basic elements and a selection of colors and materials of the highest quality. In terms of design, the accent on horizontal and vertical axes is key. The visual continuity offered by the edges of the pull-outs, drawers, and doors enhances the beauty of simplicity and the sculptural character of the kitchen as a whole. In addition, the b1 system’s aesthetically perfect construction conveys a powerful sensuousness that highlights the contrasts with the solid birch elements of the interior fitting system.

bulthaup b1 has been conceived for cosmopolitans seeking quality in form and who understand that true luxury stems from well-thought-out simplicity. (Photo 1)

b1 can also be very familiar, configuring a kitchen with balanced proportions conceived for the entire family. (Photo 2)

As a small kitchen, b1 is also an excellent choice for a first kitchen in a loft space, where the island (photo 3) finished in white lacquer is combined with a solid ash bar top. The floor-to-ceiling-height units with finished back panels break up the open space between the kitchen and the living room. This open plan layout creates a gathering point where people converge to spend time and cook together.

b1 can be interpreted according to each owner’s particular needs and tastes. It is for people who consider the living space in the kitchen not just as another area in the home, but as a reflection of their lifestyle, and who believe that its design must mirror their way of seeing of the world. Let yourself be inspired!

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We are pleased to present the second edition of the “b for bulthaup” award as part of our aim to acknowledge innovation, quality of life, functionality, professional skill, technical perfection, and the ability to adapt to changing times.

We wish to join the efforts of so many chefs and other professionals in the restaurant sector who truly identify with our quest for ongoing improvement.

This year, the jury panel for the 2014 edition of the “b for bulthaup” award gathered an eclectic group of professionals:

Julia Perez, journalist and gourmet.
Manuel Blanco, Professor at the Univ. Politécnica de Madrid.
Teresa Sapey, architect and interior designer.
Juan Duyos, fashion designer.
Soledad Lorenzo, gallerist and art expert.
Quin Vila Vila Viniteca entrepreneur.
José Ribagorda, journalist and food enthusiast.
Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, journalist.
Enric Pastor, Director of the magazine AD.
Manuel Muga, vice president of Bodegas Muga.
María José de Blas and Ruben Picado, architects
Edgar Gonzalez, architect and blogger

It is a pleasure for us to announce that the second b for bulthaup award, for the year 2014, was granted this past Wednesday, November 12, at the bulthaup O’Donell showroom in Madrid, where all the members of the jury met to deliberate. After an intense discussion about the excellent level of the Spanish chef’s efforts, the award was given to:

The floating bench and c3 table complement the concept of the kitchen as a living space – in a truly stylish and supportive way.

You’re probably sitting down while you’re reading this. Not surprising, really. After all, that’s the most comfortable way to read. Sitting is also the best position for thinking, eating and holding the most interesting of conversations. And you can relax wonderfully without missing out on what’s going on around you – the mind is placed in a sort of “stand-by” mode.  So there are a whole host of reasons why bulthaup would want to focus in more detail on the subject of seating.

The starting point for our ideas was the kitchen, as it has been since the start of the 20^th century. In those days, this room was the undisputed epicenter of the home. It was here that the latest rumors were talked about or spread, where people laughed, cried, cooked and where had the perfect solution for accommodating the agents of such vibrant activity-the bench.

The bench encourages communication. This end-to-end horizontal object is more adept at inviting people to take a seat than any other piece of furniture. Space is evenly distributed, there’s no backrest to restrict your comfort. And if a few more guests turn up, then you simply squash up more closely together. The communication-encouraging effect has been proven.

Bulthaup also sees the kitchen as a living space; a place where the separation of the cooking and living has been done away with. So it made perfect sense to revive the bench, and to do so with the typical, clear use of form and the possibilities that only bulthaup b3 can offer. As a result, the bench now looks like it’s floating. Freed from the floor, it takes on an optical lightness that benefits the room and sections it horizontally. The filigree, veneered furniture avails itself of the functional wall’s rigidity. The cross-section of the materials used measures no more than 16 millimeters. And despite this, the bench can withstand even heavy loads.

They are available in various widths as single benches, or can be attached to the wall as a long bench. This makes even unusual solutions possible, such as the ones that used to be commonplace in places known as Zirmstuben (wooden-paneled bar-style rooms) in Austria. The bench stretches over the entire length of the wall, making it clear that it is more than just a piece of furniture to sit on while eating, but also a place where communication can take place.

In combination with the right table, whose use of form also matches the bulthaup b3 concept, the kitchen living space is thus reinterpreted as a meeting point in a truly contemporary way. The table rests solidly on the floor, cutting filigree, lightweight and contemporary figure. Even in their three available sizes, the cross-sections of the tables do not exceed 16 millimeters.

To complete the room-facing side of the table, bulthaup’s designers came up with a finely-proportioned, almost identical, floor-standing bench. Its back rest reaches right downwards, highlighting the object’s elegance. Several of these floor-standing benches in the short version, measuring just 108 cm in length, positioned with a small space between them, have proven to be extremely practical at long tables, since guests can stand up easily whenever they wish.

Oak, maple-Swiss pear- everything is possible

For the veneers, customers have an embarrassment of choice, since numerous types of wood, including oak, maple, cherry and special veneers such as Swiss pear, are all part of available range.

Benches and tables are integrated perfectly into bulthaup b3 in terms of aesthetics and form, providing additional scope for continuing the system beyond the kitchen –right into the living space, the entrance area, the living room, the corridor and so on.

Every year Cities Connection Project (CCP) chooses two European cities and connects them through their shared knowledge and renowned architects’ projects in a ‘back and forth’ event.

The project exhibits 20 selected works from both cities hosted in the guest city and proposes roundtables, discussion meetings with professionals, conferences and other activities open to the general public.

BARCELONA, November 2014 Cities Connection Project, which regularly connects outstanding European city architecture with the city of Barcelona, has chosen Geneva for its second event. The project, led by architects Nicola Regusci and Xavier Bustos, began in 2013 born from a desire to establish cultural networks between Barcelona and guest cities. “The goal is for architects to explore new approaches to looking at our cities, establish professional relationships and share their vision on urban development”, explains Cities Connection Project co-founder, Nicola Regusci.

Besides the exhibition of 20 selected works from both cities, the event includes a catalogue, conferences, roundtables, discussion meetings with professionals and institutions and several visits to the local architecture studios, with the aim of generating synergies between architects, cultural agents, administrations and universities. According to the selection criteria, the Connection project aspires to create a showcase for functional architecture committed to the current social reality, breaking away from mass media architecture. Architects under the age of 50 have built the selected works during the last ten years. “We have managed to gather professionals who have actually had an impact on the current architectural panorama of both cities. This is a significant achievement because it seldom happens that architects meet together to share and connect, in both formal and informal environments”, says Cities Connection Project co-founder, Xavier Bustos.

Last year, Barcelona connected to the Swiss region of Ticino, under the theme “Architecture and Territory”. This year is the turn of Geneva, with future events already being considered in cities like Berlin, Zurich and Brussels. The aim of Cities Connection Project is for each event to be the catalyst for an ongoing dialogue between architects from the selected cities. “We imagine a future with a wide European network of connections between professionals and institutions, a neuronal system capable of generating a critical and open-minded vision about the projection of our cities”, Bustos and Regusci acknowledge.

The second edition of Cities Connection Project will take place in Barcelona from 13^th to 23^rd November with the support from the Arts Santa Mònica Centre de la Creativitat.. The exhibition Import GENEVA, under title “Building Geneva_Projects versus challenges”, is dedicated to 20 collective housing projects built during the last ten years by architects from Geneva.

Export BARCELONA, the second phase of the exchange, will take place from 5^th to 26^th February 2015, where 20 selected Catalan architects will present their work at the Geneva SICLI Pavilion, thanks to the collaboration between Cities Connection Project and the Maison de l’Architecture.