"This symbiosis of architecture and kitchen design has never been seen before"

Milan, 14.04.2010

Mr. Duffner, what gave you the idea of developing your new kitchen with an architect?
Elmar Duffner: "Poggenpohl has always trodden new paths. And it was no different either with our new +ARTESIO® kitchen concept. Right from the very beginning, our vision was not only to create a kitchen but an all-embracing spatial concept that no longer draws a line between cooking and living. In other words, a kitchen design that enters a symbiosis with the room's architecture, giving it a space-creating function. So, in searching for a designer, what was more obvious than to go a step further and find someone who thinks in terms of rooms rather than just furniture design."

Why did you choose to work with Hadi Teherani?
Elmar Duffner: "We deliberately looked for an architect who harmonises with us as an old-established company and, above all, with our paradigms in relation to high quality, exceptional style, elegance and the sophisticated design of our kitchens. And so it wasn't long before we came across Mr. Teherani. His architecture provides precisely those interconnecting, all-embracing solutions that are important for our +ARTESIO® kitchen and which always incorporate the surrounding field and make space somewhere that's exciting to experience and live in."

Was it possible to turn Mr. Teherani's ideas into practice straight away or did you have to make any major concessions in the course of the development process?
Elmar Duffner: "Following a briefing on our part, we received the initial sketches from Mr. Teherani at the end of 2008. There was something of today's +ARTESIO® even in these first drawings. We then teamed up and took this design forward, discussed materials and shapes and finalised it in record time."

When you see the result in front of you today: What makes +ARTESIO® so special?
Elmar Duffner: "In +ARTESIO®, Poggenpohl once again underscores its role as the industry's driver of innovation. For the first time, kitchen design and room architecture enter a liaison and together create new spaces. Doing so, the kitchen frees itself from the notion of being an addition. With +ARTESIO®, walls, floor and ceiling fuse with the kitchen. Something that's never been seen before in this way. We also developed a new carcase that permits identical front and sides."

Ideally, the architect includes your +ARTESIO® kitchen at the room-planning stage. Don't most of your customers have to go with the given architecture and integrate a kitchen into the rooms that already exist?
Elmar Duffner: "+ARTESIO® is the most flexible kitchen concept that Poggenpohl has ever offered. Its space-creating function allows architects to take account of the kitchen's design as early as the room-planning stage. Yet at the same time, it also provides a minor amount of scope for planning kitchens in room situations that already exist. Doing so, its integrative, all-embracing concept enables it to merge with the given room architecture in a unique way even without the characteristic ceiling and without floors."

How would you define the target group for your +ARTESIO®kitchen?
Elmar Duffner: "Our customers have a pronounced appreciation for aesthetics, elegance and the beautiful things in life. They re-discover the beauty of their kitchen with every day that passes because they can feel, see and experience its particular quality. As a result of its space-creating concept, +ARTESIO® is aimed at architects in particular. On top of this, +ARTESIO® is also a design alternative to our other concepts."

Can you imagine working with Hadi Teherani beyond +ARTESIO®?
Elmar Duffner: "Working with Hadi Teherani was a lot of fun and a joy for us all here at Poggenpohl and opened our eyes to a new thinking. This is why I will answer this question with the old saying: Never say never."

The trend is clear: Kitchen and living space are merging into one. Is Poggenpohl also planning to enter the domain of classic living-room furniture?
Elmar Duffner: "For years now, Poggenpohl has been offering solutions that extend beyond classic kitchen design – our elegant highboards or the multifunctional dining-desk, for instance, that can be used as a kitchen and dining table as well as a desk. Last year, these were joined by a shelf system that carries the style of our kitchens over into the living area. Cooking and eating belong together. This is why there will also be a dining table with chairs and a corner bench in dark pine, pale leather and sumptuous sitting comfort for the +ARTESIO® kitchen."

Further information / Press contact:
Thomas Oberle, Public Relations Manager
Poggenpohl Möbelwerke GmbH
Phone: +49 (0)5221 381 485
E-mail: Thomas.Oberle@poggenpohl.com

To download copy and photo material: www.poggenpohl.com