20.04.2007

Kitchens for More Than Just Cooking and Playing the Host In - the Fascination of the bulthaup Living Space

Innovative Living Space Plans with bulthaup b3
bulthaup, along with its products and systems, makes a deliberate effort to eschew transient fashions and short-lived trends. With its custom-planned and custom-built kitchens, the company continues to unveil innovative plans that can only become reality with bulthaup b3. These plans always incorporate the architecture of the room and the building as a whole. bulthaup acts right at the point where architecture creates quality of life. "And with bulthaup b3,” says designer Herbert H. Schultes, "the individual living areas can be seamlessly joined together.”
 

Living Space Planning at the bulthaup Studio in Marienburg, Cologne
The modern architecture of the villa built in 1992 offers a highly exclusive atmosphere truly characteristic of a private home. The range, variability and individuality of bulthaup b3 is clearly visible here, with floating, foot-supported and floor-standing plans moving from technical to sensual and from strict to stylish. The open-plan studio is symmetrically divided by the centrally-arranged staircase. Bay windows in the center of the external walls offset the simple, cube-like shape of the building, visually enhancing the symmetry and also lending structure to the open-plan design. Mirroring the building's structure, the symmetry of the floor layout is picked up by the four bulthaup b3 kitchens, thus forming a single entity with the architecture. Similar to the four points of the compass, these four objects' use of form and materials have a polarizing effect. The areas are enhanced by a central communication zone in front of the main bay window, with a large, handle-free, brilliant white sideboard and a large bulthaup c3 table made from black-brown oak. This centered look is accentuated by the fact that two of the four kitchen areas fuse through the use of paneling along the entire outer wall. The panels are ceiling-height, thus forming part and parcel of the architecture of both the kitchen and the room in general.
 

The studio has a bulthaup b3 plan (object_K1) geared towards maximum functionality. It comprises a row of units and island that offer the perfect facilities for even the most demanding cook, with an interesting combination of panel wall and window. The floating line of units and the foot-supported island have a 1-cm-thick laminate worktop, while the mirrored arrangement of the functional areas is oriented towards making cooking together an enjoyable and comfortable experience.

A further bulthaup b3 kitchen (object_K2a, K2b) boasts innovative planning with a decidedly horizontal arrangement. The effect of the bulthaup b3 lightweight design is accentuated by the floating elements. The classically-planned, floating line is enhanced with a floor-standing island with natural gray walnut bar top, complete with bulthaup flat panel hood. The worktop is made from quartz gray synthetic stone. The functional boxes ensure ergonomic workflows, while the shutter wall units create real visual flair. The room-height panel wall made from natural aluminum, with white glass in the functional area around the water point, harmonizes the architecture of the kitchen with the architecture of the room.

The architectural concept of the foot-supported bulthaup b3 kitchen (object_K3a, K3b) offers a combination of a floating line of units and island with the minimalist bar counter functioning as the unifying element. The fronts feature a matt clay painted finish, while the room-height panel walls are in white, high-gloss Acrylic.