Just a few months ago, we announced the bulthaup access competition for architects and designers in Spain, Portugal, and Andorra. This event aims to acknowledge those professionals who have proven their excellence in their ability to conceive projects for living spaces where people live, share, and enjoy the company of family and friends, and their overall daily lives.

The event has been announced in architects’ associations throughout Spain. We are currently working on the competition process jointly with the COAC, the Association of Architects of Catalonia.

It is an honor to have a jury composed of three renowned architecture and interior design professionals for the selection of the winner and the honorable mentions:

• Jordi Badia, architect, ETSAB degree. Founder and director of the BAAS architecture studio, professor at the ETSAB School of Architecture, and editor of the www.hicarquitectura.com blog.

• Ignasi Bonjoch, interior design degree from Elisava. Founder of Estudi Bonjoch. He alternates his teaching and professional commitments with acting as a jury member for a variety of general and interior design prizes and competitions.

• Arturo Frediani, architect, ETSAB degree. Founder and director of estudio frediani [arquitectura]. He alternates his professional commitments with teaching at the EAR School of Architecture and has acted as a jury member for several architecture and design competitions.

And three bulthaup representatives:

• Christian Weirich, CEO, bulthaup Iberia.

• Leopold Bautista, owner of the bulthaup showroom in Girona.

• Josep Boix, owner of the bulthaup showroom in Sant Cugat.

We encourage all architects who have completed kitchen design projects with budgets no higher than 25,000 euros + VAT (appliances not included) to submit their entries. The deadline for submissions is December 16.

For those who are not familiar with the terms and conditions for the competition and may be interested in making a submission, please check this post.

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Ever since the beginning, bulthaup has based its inspiration and innovation on ergonomics, functionality, and authentic materials of the finest quality. It has always striven to convey the importance of architecture, design, and excellence, where nothing is left to chance. A command of space, attention to detail, the wisdom of everyday gestures, the mystery of humble actions, the secret of simple things, together make bulthaup projects unique. These values of the bulthaup brand adapt to all sorts of different projects—including affordable solutions for small spaces. That is why bulthaup is introducing:

The first bulthaup access award for architects and designers in Spain, Portugal, and Andorra..

The bulthaup access award strives to acknowledge professionals who are sensitive to the vision and the excellence involved in designing spaces where people live, share, cook, and enjoy the company of family and friends—and their everyday life as a whole. A place where individuals can express their particular values and sensitivities.

In his introduction to Otl Aicher’s book The Kitchen for Cooking, Anatxu Zabalbeascoa* conveys the essence of bulthaup:

“Reduction to the simplest form is the essence of excellence.” Aicher found time for details. When he was doing the background research for his book, he reached the conclusion that the history of cooking was as interesting as that of architecture itself. “The truth of eating stems from cooking, from its process, from doing, from use; just as distinct individuality stems from the decision to lead one’s own life as opposed to that of others.”
Cooking has its roots in preserving food and the notion of storage. But it has become more than that: “It is the act in which we state our humanity.” Humanity and freedom are both words that Aicher uses with caution. They constitute the essence of his active quest, the roots of life and the meaning it took on for him. But the question here is more than sanctifying festivities or celebrating rituals. As a philosopher of utility, Aicher celebrates the precision of tools and the pleasure derived from using them. Without a knife, a spoon, and a fork, we would live off what we could grab with our hands. “We would lose the art of cooking, and along with it, something that sets humans apart from animals”: a mixture of wisdom and skill. Few essayists have been more critical of contemporary art than he. For Aicher, the distinction between life and art is a cause rather than a consequence: humanity justifies design, the key decisions. “A work of art hanging on a wall ceases to be useful when what we are searching for is a way of life that is bearable as a whole. Life itself has become art.”
The best designs for living spaces with bulthaup kitchens capture that essence.

If you are interested in submitting an entry, read the terms and conditions in the bulthaup access award section of this blog. Premio bulthaup access de este blog.

*pág. 8-9 Otl Aicher, La cocina para cocina. El final de una doctrina arquitectónica.