Interview Duffner

Photo: Duffner, VDM

Besides the trend towards ever more minimalist solutions and looks, kitchens seem to have been hallmarked almost exclusively by the brand in recent years, and designers with a recognition factor of their own were few and far between. Why have designers steered clear of kitchens up until now, and is that about to change with the involvement of leading designers like Teherani and Starck?
It isn’t that designers have steered clear of kitchens, it’s more a case of the manufacturers steering clear of designers. That’s because many a corporate philosophy doesn’t consider the face behind the design uppermost. But that’s changing. Nowadays it can actually even be very difficult for a manufacturer to sign a designer up for a project, especially if he or she has a really high profile. If they want to develop furniture that arouses people’s curiosity, designers and manufacturers have to work hand in hand and inspire one another. Then their designs can even become trailblazers for subsequent generations. At Poggenpohl, for instance, we’ve always collaborated with renowned designers. For me, designers are definitely part of the value chain, they’re a competitive factor.

At the next imm cologne in January 2011, it seems as if kitchens are going to get a chance to show off with a new trade fair format. How much importance do you attach to the LivingKitchen concept of organising a joint event together with manufacturers of kitchen furnishings, built-in appliances and relevant products from related areas?
We’re all very much looking forward to this event. Precisely because of this concept and its links with the imm cologne, we see LivingKitchen as a huge opportunity to give the entire spectrum of the kitchen industry a new anchor in what is Europe’s biggest market. We see 2011 as the starting signal, as the key to a door that has been closed for a long time. That door is now being opened up to the European and international buyer. At LivingKitchen he will find all the products that interest him in one place, products that he used to have to visit several fairs for. He will also find the industry’s key players, all brought together in a single location. When resources are in short supply, that’s a monetary advantage too.

In the interview Elmar Duffner talks about:

• The significance of the kitchen in the home decor
• The kitchen as the cockpit of the home
• Wellness-element kitchen
• Trends around kitchen design and designer kitchen as a competitive advantage
• The export hit German kitchens
• The concept of LivingKitchen