Valcucine: “Ingegno per l’ambiente”

This year too, Valcucine will participate in the “Fuori Salone” with its own exhibiting space to present its new products and to continue to inform the public of the values and philosophy that have contributed to the creation of the company’s strong and distinguishing identity in Italy and abroad.
Valcucine will be present in “Zona Tortona”, inside the “Superstudiopiù” and, more precisely, in the Gallery on an exhibiting area of 800 square metres.
In addition to the fact that it is not possible to exhibit kitchen and living room furniture in the same space, the choice of exhibiting outside the area considered as the international circuit of the exhibition also fulfils Valcucine’s wish to manage the exhibiting space in a completely independent way, converting it from mere “container” to a dynamic and interactive environment in line with our company’s image.

The Gallery is divided into three sections that will try to define the company’s identity in a non-exhaustive way.
The first will be dedicated to art in which the ARTEMATICA programme will be presented through the creations of ArteDeisa, a versatile personality that ranges over articles of clothing, furniture and accessories to express a very personal point of view by means of shape and colour combinations, and of those of Ugo Nespolo, one of the greatest Italian global artists who paints as well as working in the film industry and whose works have a characteristically ironic inclination as well as a strong sense of fun.
The Artematica line condenses the aspects that have always been priorities for Valcucine: the diffusion of beauty; making the most of each person, of his/her ideas and abilities; respect and protection of the environment.
If, on the one hand, this project was born to allow artists to let their creativity and ideas flow freely in the customisation of kitchen fronts, on the other hand, through the inlay technique, a process that has its roots in handicraft workmanship, it has promoted the recovery of the inestimable value of handicraft work, creating a continuous dialogue between tradition and innovation.


A second section will be divided into two correlated areas.
The first is dedicated to RICICLANTICA and, in particular, to the presentation of the new 2mm thick glass door which is the maximum expression of the principle of dematerialisation as well as, from an aesthetic viewpoint, of the pre-eminence of lightness.
Designed and constructed to have a minimum impact on the environment in compliance with the four principles of eco-compatibility (minimum consumption of raw materials and energy, long-life, recyclability and non-toxicity) the Riciclantica door is the result of a technology developed by Valcucine to give the surface an organically deformed appearance; new shapes and volumes inspired by nature that look as if they are concealing life pulsating within the matter of which the front is constructed.

The second of the two areas was born from the collaboration between Valcucine and the Design and Innovation for Sustainability research group of the INDACO Department of the Polytechnic of Milan (Science supervisors: Ezio Manzini and Anna Meroni)
Aware of the fact that environment and social sustainability must also be reflected in the lifestyle and daily habits of each and every one of us, the project looks for sustainable lifestyles in the kitchen. It is necessary to radically renew our way of obtaining, producing, preparing, preserving and consuming food. In other words, it is necessary to acquire a new way of life in the kitchen, made of choices, abilities and pleasures.
The kitchen can be nothing less than a protagonist and an instrument in this transformation, offering the possibility of change to those who use it.

The third section of the Gallery is dedicated to the results of the collaboration between Valcucine and Alessi, the famous Italian company that has been capable, in the course of time, of diversifying its activity and of becoming one of the most important “factories of Italian design Italian design”.
LACUCINEALESSI is a complete kitchen furniture and equipment project designed by the internationally-renowned architect and designer Alessandro Mendini, who was appointed the task, in the ‘90s, of re-inventing the image of Alessi.
The creativity of Mendini was combined with the design experience and the technological precision of Valcucine.
The aim is to introduce a technically irreproachable kitchen environment in homes, without hi-tech ostentations and strongly distinguished by the soft sinuosity of the curved line.

Valcucine’s exhibiting area will stand out as an open and dynamic environment in which contacts and conversations with the public will become fundamental moments for the growth of a mutual conscience that is capable of combining aesthetics with ethics, so that beauty will continue to be enjoyed by the generations to come.




The Artematica programme
Design by G. Centazzo


High technology, formal simplicity, pure and essential lines are the main features of Artematica. The high quality level derives from the technical innovation used to create the first single-block door in dematerialised layered laminate. It is made from an aluminium structural frame to which various types of panels in different materials are applied: HPL layered in many different colours, wood-laminate layered laminate, lacquered MDF, glass. This system makes the door very resistant to humidity, heat and impacts, reduces its weight so that the hinges last longer, makes it easier to shut, easier to recycle and has a smaller impact on the environment (less materials and energy consumption). The great versatility of the new Artematica models makes it possible to create a personalised kitchen that can satisfy any aesthetic taste, reflecting different life-styles and personalities.

Thanks to the minimal thickness of the panels, their weight is reduced by up to 50 percent compared to normal kitchen fronts and this lengthens the life of hinges, joints and of the overall kitchen.


Artematica Vitrum

The doors of Artematica Vitrum are constructed using a lightweight and resistant aluminium frame fitted with a matt or gloss glass front that can be coloured or simply etched. The worktop is also in toughened glass and supported by sturdy drawn aluminium bars. Glass is used for the side panel at the end of the island. Stainless steel is used on the side of the sink unit and on the rear of the island. Very thick volumes permit the top of the unit to be fitted with practical accessories such a dish-drainers, electric sockets, stainless steel bowls, weighing scales and a vacuum pump.

The fronts are composed of 5 mm thick tempered glass, the worktops are 10 mm thick and are available in 10 different colours. Glass is a particularly interesting material, not just because it is transparent but also because it offers practical advantages: it is extremely resistant to humidity, its scratch-resistance is higher than that of varnishes and it is harder than steel. It is also a natural product that can be 100% recycled.



Riciclantica
Design by G. Centazzo

The Valcucine research has looked for technology to give the surface of the door the feel of organic deformation. Riciclantica features new shapes and volumes inspired by nature and looks almost like life throbbing inside the material of which the front is made. The use of special materials such as carbon, aluminium, steel or HPL (2 mm thick) also contributes to making the door of Riciclantica unique in the furniture industry. The construction details are very accurate: for example, the inside of the new frame has an aesthetically pure appearance (without screws or hole plugs) and the frame and panel are perfectly flush-fitted at the top of the door. A kaleidoscope of an arrangement in terms of colours and materials used. Thanks to the 2mm thick aesthetic panel it is possible to use the most innovative materials that technological research will make available.
RICICLANTICA door, organic design The main task of third millennium architecture and design is to reconcile Man and Nature, creating for Man a harmonious environment where even objects that have been artificially constructed are part of a great plan that unites all living creatures. The Riciclantica door project finds its main source of inspiration in Nature. Its membrane swells and changes shape thanks to lots of little ridges that create outward thrusts, giving you the impression of pulsating life, like that of many animals (crocodile, frog, iguana) and thousands of plants.