New Spaces_09_EN

Gaggenau
new spaces 09
48inductors
See page 49

2 Editorial
Welcome to the World of Gaggenau!
Continuity and change — the tension between these two poles is
what inspires many creative people all over the world. In this issue,
we explore some of their work. Preserving cherished values while
creating something new — that’s the aim of the Australian inventors
of “tower skin”, a spectacular outer membrane for outmoded highrises.
Another example of the new focus on sustainability is the
rediscovery of nearly forgotten wild herbs and vegetable varieties
by top international chefs. Also in this issue, you’ll find out about
the changing face of the pavilion at London’s Serpentine Gallery
and the developments that have transformed the no less venerable
Meissen porcelain manufactory into an international trendsetter. In
similar fashion, at Gaggenau we also develop and design products
through the creative contrast of tradition and progress. In a portrait
of our design department, now under new management, you’ll
be able to see how this principle is reflected in Gaggenau design.
Pleasant reading, yours sincerely
Sven Schnee
Head of
Gaggenau International

PHOTOGRAPHY: MONIKA HÖFLER (TOP), MORLEY VON STERNBERG/ARCAIDIMAGES.COM (BOTTOM)
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44
50
Imprint
Gaggenau new spaces 09
Publisher Gaggenau Hausgeräte GmbH, Marketing international
Responsible Sven Schnee
Project Management Annette Kaiser
Contents
04 Thinking the Future I The art of concealment in Sydney: Tower Skin
10 Inside Gaggenau The philosophy of evolutionary design
14 Best Practice A villa in the London suburb of Highgate
20 Kitchen Love The Munich-based architect Hendrik Müller
22 Thinking the Future II The revival of wild vegetables and herbs
28 Thinking the Future III Meissen porcelain in architecture
34 Gaggenau Online new spaces on the Internet
35 Sights and Scenes Focus on the United Arab Emirates
43 What’s Next? Spectacular architectural plans
44 Projects A luxury condominium in Lisbon
48 New Products The new full-surface induction cooktop
50 Thinking the Future IV Metamorphosis of an art gallery pavilion
58 Worldwide News from the world of Gaggenau
Editor in Chief Peter Würth (responsible according to press law) Art Director Dirk Linke Managing Editor Inga Borg Design Lukas Niehaus
Picture Editor Trine Skraastad Copy Desk Sebastian Schulin Translation TransForm, Cologne Production Claude Hellweg (Head), Oliver Lupp Contributors Barbara Bierach,
Wolf-Christian Fink, Adam Gollner, Josephine Grever, Cornelia Haff , Tobias Moorstedt, Anuschka Seifert, Petra Thorbrietz Questions or suggestions regarding this issue
should be sent to newspaces@gaggenau.com Publishing house and editorial office HOFFMANN UND CAMPE VERLAG GmbH, a company of the GANSKE VERLAGSGRUPPE,
Harvestehuder Weg 42, 20149 Hamburg, Germany, Tel. +49 40 44188-257, Fax +49 40 44188-236 Managing Directors Dr. Kai Laakmann, Dr. Andreas Siefke, Bernd Ziesemer
Publication Manager Inga Borg Lithography fi lestyle medienproduktion, Hamburg Printing Neef+Stumme, Wittingen Copyright © 2011 by Gaggenau. Reprinting only with source
credit and voucher copy. The content does not necessarily refl ect the opinion of the publisher.
3

4 Thinking the Future I
New Skin for Old Stones Text: Barbara Bierach

The Water Cube
Beijing’s National Aquatics Centre, built for the 2008 Summer
Olympics, is encased in a transparent membrane.
PHOTOGRAPHY: IWAN BAAN

6 Thinking the Future I
Chris Bosse’s aim is to
shift the boundaries of
structure and architecture.
By using wraparound
membranes, he
can transform the faceless
office blocks of the
concrete era into sustainable
and habitable
low-energy buildings.
The tower’s new façade
The “tower skin” will attractively package the outmoded
administration block of Sydney’s University of Technology.
Chris Bosse’s architectural practice is called the Laboratory
for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) — and his latest project has
“lava” written all over it. Generally referred to as the ugliest
building in Sydney, the Broadway Tower is a 32 storey administration
block belonging to the University of Technology (UTS).
Also known as the UTS Tower, it is now slated for a spectacular
makeover. By night it will then shimmer on the Sidney skyline as
though moulten rock were gliding down its surface. Alternatively,
the university will be able to use the façade as a giant display
surface for a changing series of graphic designs.
Built in 1969, the Broadway Tower has been blasted by
its critics as pompous, arrogant and detested ever since its cornerstone
was laid. The planned facelift, however, should put
an end to the vilifi cation. LAVA proposes to wrap a special membrane
around the existing building by means of a special steel
framework construction. This so-called “tower skin” is a light
and fl exible composite mesh textile made of nylon and ethylene
tetrafl uoroethylene (ETFE). The surface tension of the membrane
will make it stretch snugly around the walls and the roof
elements of the building, thus achieving maximum visual impact
with a minimal usage of materials.
Once in place, this cocoon will serve a number of purposes:
aesthetic, by giving the 1960’s concrete façade a much-needed
revamp; technical, by creating a microclimate beneath the membrane
that will serve to improve the building’s lighting and ventilation;
communicatory, by using LEDs on the outer skin to transmit
all kinds of messages; and, fi nally, ecological, by collecting
energy like a huge array of solar panels and channelling rainwater
for re-use.
The idea has quickly attracted admirers, and the UK’s
The Independent newspaper is already wondering whether
LAVA might not be willing to sheathe the Barbican Centre in
London or even the entire central district of Croydon in a kind of
“gigantic condom”. Architectural experts are also impressed:
LAVA was presented at the World Urban Forum with the Re-
Skinning Award, part of the UN sponsored ZEROprize, for its
UTS Tower design. The award honours “market-disrupting improvements
in the design and development of retrofi tting and
re-skinning technologies that improve the energy effi ciency and
habitability of older buildings”.
All that remains now is for UTS to give the go-ahead.
There are already plans and fi nancing for redeveloping the city
campus; the burning question now is whether the university has
the innovative daring to implement the tower skin project. First,
however, it intends to spend AUD 120 million on a new Business
School designed by Frank Gehry. Yet when Gehry was at a podium
discussion in Sydney, the fi rst question from the fl oor was:
“Why don’t you help us do something about the awful Broadway
Tower instead?”

Sunshades in the desert
On the central plaza of Masdar, a sustainable city in the United Arab Emirates, the sunshades unfold like fl owers
at dawn to provide shade during the day and close again at dusk, thus allowing the ground to cool.
7

8 Thinking the Future I
Chris Bosse is fascinated
by organic forms. For him,
digital technology off ers an
escape from right angles.

“ Lots of people have problems accepting nonstandardised
forms. I think we need to press
ahead with the digital revolution in architecture
as well, so that we can enter a new era.”
Gehry politely declined, which is why Bosse entered the picture,
along with LAVA co-founder Thomas Wallisser. LAVA,
which has offi ces in Stuttgart, Sydney, Abu Dhabi and Shanghai,
is by no means merely interested in theoretical projects. Bosse,
who works in Sydney, is the brains behind some of the most
interesting architectural projects of recent times in Asia and
Australia, despite still being under 40 years of age. By far the
best-known of these is Beijing’s National Aquatics Centre, built
for the 2008 Summer Olympics and more commonly known as
the Water Cube. This futuristic building, which has a spectacular
cellular façade designed to look like water bubbles, won the
Atmosphere award at the Venice Biennale.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) also honoured
Bosse with the AR Emerging Architecture Award for the way
that he shifts “the boundaries of structure and architecture” by
means of an experimental investigation of form. This refers to
projects such as Masdar City, a CO 2 neutral city under construction
south of Abu Dhabi (cf. p. 38), the centre of which has been
designed by Bosse and his team. In order to create pleasant
open-air spaces in the scorching desert heat, LAVA covered the
squares and passages with high-tech sunshades that incorporate
some of the very latest construction materials and the same
membrane technology employed for the Water Cube. At daybreak
the shades unfold like fl owers to provide shade during the
day; they close again in the evening, thus allowing the ground to
cool in the night air. Solar modules integrated into the sunshades
generate electricity during the day and LEDs provide
soft lighting at night.
“Ninety per cent of the sustainable qualities of a building
are the result of good design rather than technology,” Bosse
explains. That, however, shouldn’t disguise the fact that he is an
ardent technology fan: “We’re the fi rst generation of architects
to have grown up completely in the digital age. For me, the computer
is more than just an aid; it’s my design partner.” For Bosse,
digital technology means being able “to build better and less
expensively, without being a prisoner of the right angle”. A perfect
example of this is the proposed membrane for the Broadway
Tower. A new building would cost AUD 150 million, whereas
a tower skin can be had for a tenth of the price. But doesn’t that
merely disguise a dysfunctional design behind a pretty façade?
From the windows of his offi ce, Bosse gazes at the UTS Tower.
His fi ngers toy with a model of the Green Void, an installation
designed for an exhibition in Sydney. This installation also makes
use of membrane and digital technology. Lycra was stretched
across a space defi ned by fi ve connection points to form a minimal
surface, as calculated by a computer. What looks complicated
is in fact relatively simple. Part of the motivation for the
project was to ruff le the feathers of conservatives who believe
that Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier are the only architects
of note. “Lots of people have problems accepting non-standardised
forms,” he says. “We need to press ahead with the digital
revolution in architecture as well, if we are to enter a new era.”
For LAVA, architecture is about more than just designing
“pretty” buildings. Instead, it seeks integrated solutions to the
challenges of the 21st century, when a growing population will
have to live in increasingly close quarters. Instead of the old
battle cry of “form follows function”, Bosse is more interested in
what he describes as “integrated thinking”, which according to
him “covers not only ecological approaches to design — that
goes without saying — but also transport planning plus social
and cultural aspects”. He aims to apply this to the UTS, which is
the best university in Australia for technical and creative vocations
and brings together disciplines such as engineering, architecture
and product, fashion, and media design. As Bosse says,
it makes perfect sense to use all of this knowledge to transform
a loathed building.
For Bosse, the tower project has an almost philosophical
dimension: “Mies van der Rohe said, ‘less is more’; I prefer to
say, ‘more with less’.” This implies that “we need to counter the
trend of advancing urbanisation and, instead of consuming more
and more energy and raw materials, simply consume less.”
This is why Bosse often fi nds it more interesting to adapt existing
structures to the changing demands of modern life. “The last
three years have produced four generations of the iPhone, yet
many buildings last for 200 years. I like to think in terms of openended
architecture — that is, about how to create structures that
can be continually adapted to current requirements.” When it
was built, the UTS Tower was state-of-the-art architecture, but we
now know that people prefer not to work in fully air-conditioned
buildings hermetically sealed against the outside world. But if
the only answer is demolition, says Bosse, then “we will have to
endure our cities being permanent building sites”. For him, the
idea of transformation is much more intelligent. ¤
Further information
www.l-a-v-a.net
http://l-a-v-a.blogspot.com/
9

10 Inside Gaggenau
In Pursuit of Perfection
Kitchens are becoming more complex — and
that is spurring Gaggenau’s new chief
designer Sven Baacke on to set new standards
Text: Wolf-Christian Fink Photography: Monika Höfl er
New ideas
Chief designer Sven Baacke
and his team are responsible
for the appearance of
Gaggenau appliances.
The job calls for achieving
two-part harmony between
aesthetic maturity
and technical perfection.

Can be perfection be improved? A master of rhetoric will answer
“no”. A perfect thing is absolute and can’t be made better.
But Sven Baacke, 36, the new chief designer at Gaggenau,
takes a pragmatic view. He believes that at Gaggenau perfection
results from an ideal interplay of form and function. New functions
can generate new forms. Baacke calls it “evolutionary design”
— self-developing design, so to speak, a technical and aesthetic
survival of the fi ttest.
With his six-person team, Baacke, a native of Stuttgart,
took on responsibility this year for the visual appeal of
Gaggenau appliances, a challenge he had been warming up for
during the years he worked at the side of his predecessor Reinhard
Segers. Baacke fi rst came to Gaggenau as a freelance
designer. From the very start, he associated the brand above all
with quality, remembering the solid, indestructible ventilation
hood in his parents’ home. Later on he came across a vintage
Gaggenau guarantee card that had belonged to his late grandfather,
a treasured bit of history that he keeps in his offi ce today.
The Gaggenau design team feels that its task is subject to the
Exemplary, a joy to touch
Perfectly simple, simply
perfect: the pattern
for an oven control knob.
Perfect form
This weaving shuttle is made
of wood and has a metal tip.
For Sven Baacke it is a
design treasure, and he
keeps it at his workstation.
11
confl icting imperatives of tradition and innovation. On the one
hand, the appliances have remarkably long life cycles and therefore
are not subject to every fashionable, trendy approach to
design. But on the other hand, new eating habits and living situations,
as well as customers’ consciousness of sustainability
and energy effi ciency, require adjustments in terms of aesthetics
and functionality. “The users’ lifestyles are changing. The kitchen
is becoming more open, and that makes ventilation more
complex, for example. Then too, precious heat should no longer
be removed with air extraction, so air recirculation solutions are
becoming much more important,” Baacke says.
One source of inspiration Gaggenau has drawn from
time and again is professional kitchens, whose technologies are
being used for appliances in private homes — for the Gaggenau
Combi-steam oven, for example. At the same time, customers
can also expect the appliances to fi t into the overall aesthetic
and functional systems of their specifi c kitchen situations, down
to the smallest detail. Technological trends are not incorporated
into the design until they can truly improve functionality. “A mod-

12 Inside Gaggenau
Looking to the future
Sven Baacke at his desk,
with parts of an
oven in the background.
ern TFT touch display, for example, has made the controls of the
full surface induction cooktop CX 480 possible,” says the chief
designer about a current new development.
Other criteria typical of the Gaggenau mindset are defi
ned in a newly formulated design philosophy. Based on the
company’s 300 year history and its tradition of uncompromising
quality standards, this philosophy also specifi es and illustrates
the guiding principles of the design process. “The concentration
on traditional design resources, selected authentic materials
and meticulous treatment of proportions lends our appliances
their aesthetic maturity and technical perfection. Their timeless
profi le is characterised by broad surfaces and clear forms” —
that’s the guidelines’ summary of the company’s maxims.
In terms of design, Baacke’s team is working in the
present with its eyes on the future. In the light-fl ooded offi ces,
carefully concealed from outsiders’ eyes, the Gaggenau products
for the years 2013 to 2015 can be seen on the monitors
today. Their creation was a process starting, as always, in close
Perfection
and beauty
To the Gaggenau
designers, even
the glass window of
the oven control
display is anything
but a minor detail.
teamwork with the technicians and continuing until the products
could be presented internally at Gaggenau as complete functioning
models. These models later become the basis for continuing
technical and design development that leads to series production
maturity.
The Gaggenau designers’ professional ethics naturally
require them to answer very cautiously when they are asked
about the products of the future. However, the key issues have
already been determined: intuitive operation with uncomplicated
controls, modularity of appliances and accessories and energy
effi ciency. All of these factors will continue to grow in importance.
Also agreed to is a list of negative factors which Gaggenau
defi nitely will not allow: “Complex displays, blinking control
lights and LED optics have never been used by Gaggenau. And
you won’t see that from us in the future,” says Sven Baacke,
adding his own point of view — and he promises that Gaggenau
appliances will continue to set the standards in every respect in
the future. ¤

“ Complex displays, blinking control lights and
LED optics have never been used by Gaggenau.
And you won’t see that from us in the future.”
Sven Baacke
A small detail
Sometimes nuances are
crucial factors:
a sample colour panel.
13

14 Best Practice
A House with Personality
A family in Highgate, a northwestern suburb
of London, added a simple extension to its
house and created a superb live-in kitchen
Text: Josephine Grever Photography: Alexander James

A glassed-in extension
The kitchen of this Georgian mansion in Highgate is a
fully glassed-in rectangular box. The back wall of
natural stone creates a visual link with the main building.

16 Best Practice
A surprise behind the wall
In the walk-in pantry hidden behind a door
in the wall there’s more than enough room for
preserves and other staples.

Vegetables on the menu
As a nutritional consultant, Vicki Lee knows the value of
healthy food. Thanks to the big refrigerator and
the pantry, fresh produce is always available in the house.
Elegant homes, precisely trimmed hedges, a High Street
with fashionable boutiques and cafés — the suburb of Highgate
in northwest London is an exclusive neighbourhood.
A normal weekday for the Lee family, who live here in a
Georgian villa, begins at 7 a.m. Vicki, the lady of the house,
prepares a breakfast of fresh fruit, porridge and scrambled
eggs. When the rest of the family sits down at the kitchen
table shortly after seven, the air is fragrant with the aromas
of coff ee and hot chocolate. Her husband David is a lawyer,
her son Barnaby is nine and her daughter Jemima is six.
They talk about school or the weather; both are always
topics of great interest. A half-hour later the house is quiet
again. Barnaby and Jemima have been driven to school in
the neighbouring suburb of Hampstead by the au pair. Mr.
Lee jogs the fi ve miles to his job in the City every morning.
And Mrs. Lee drinks another leisurely cup of coff ee before
sitting down at the desk in her study. Like her husband, she
too is a lawyer, but at the moment she’s training to become a
nutritional consultant. “That fi ts in better with our family life,
because the children are still young,” she says. “This allows
me to have a more fl exible schedule.” In her grey trousers
and fi ne cashmere jumper with a matching scarf — all in
carefully coordinated colours — Mrs. Lee harmonises perfectly
with the minimalistic design of the slate-grey kitchen
and its Gaggenau appliances. The added-on room housing
the kitchen, which was planned by Ramón Casadó of
bulthaup, Mayfair, is very spacious and fl ooded with light.
There’s an open passageway to the adjacent reading and TV
room. In front of it stands a huge, inviting walnut dining table.
The wall toward the garden is completely made of glass
and off ers sweeping views of the lawn, the fl owering trees
and the herb garden. “Everything here is so open and communicative,”
says Mrs. Lee. “Ever since we moved in, the
kitchen has gradually become the centre of our life. And
that has changed everything. It’s just so much fun to cook
and eat our meals here. Both of these activities are
enjoyable, and they belong together — for me, at any rate.”
The house, which was built in the early 18th century, is
known as the “Apothecary” because many generations of
doctors have lived here over the years. The family has been
living in the house since 2006. There are fi ve bedrooms
and a lodger fl at for house staff , which makes it ideal for a
family that enjoys entertaining and needs a lot of space for
the children’s games. Nonetheless, when they moved in, the
house urgently needed an interior facelift. The Lees knew
exactly what they wanted: a simple and hospitable home
“ It doesn’t take a lot of
skill to cook from scratch.
All you need is a good
recipe, the best ingredients
— and of course the
right kind of oven.”
where they could live very privately but also entertain guests on
a large scale. “Of course we realised that one shouldn’t do too
much remodelling of a Georgian house,” says Mrs. Lee. “We
love the classic proportions and lines of this period, and we
were very careful when we made any changes. Whatever we did,
we wanted to preserve the personality of the house.”
The Lees have certainly succeeded. The classic layout of
the rooms has been preserved: the family room and the dining
room, as well as the studies, are on the ground fl oor; one storey
higher is the elegant salon, and the bedrooms are also located
in the higher storeys. However, the strong colours that originally
covered the walls have been replaced by subtly nuanced shades
ranging from beige to brown. “It’s modern, but not too modern,”
says Vicki Lee as she opens the door to the salon on the fi rst
fl oor. This is an attractive room with parquet fl ooring, thick beigecoloured
carpets, an open fi replace and comfortable armchairs.

Tradition and modernity
The light-coloured wallpaper and carpets have lightened up some of the
heaviness of the house — as have the beige and brown tones (above).
In the extension, the crisp, austere lines of the kitchen contrast with the back
wall of natural stone, the walnut dining table and the Wegner chairs (right).
“To be honest, we don’t spend a lot of time here, even when we
have guests,” she admits. Her guests tend to gravitate towards
the family’s favourite place: the kitchen. Accordingly, this is
where most of the modernisation took place. The small cottage
on the garden side of the house was torn down to make space
for a new addition that would provide space for a large live-in
kitchen. David Lee’s brother John, an architect who has an offi ce
in Manchester, designed a simple box shape with underfl oor
heating and porcelain tile fl ooring. The kitchen appliances are
integrated into a large slate-grey wall unit. “The wall accommodates
all the essentials,” says Vicki Lee as she opens the door to
a surprising hidden bonus — a large walk-in pantry. It’s a chef’s
dream, with room for everything, from pasta, rice and jars of
jam to a picnic basket. Vicki Lee is always prepared to entertain
guests. “I’m a perfectionist, and I like to plan in advance,” she
says. “That’s why I need lots of space to store things.”
She expects her kitchen to not only look attractive but
also function smoothly. “It’s important to have everything placed
close together. And I couldn’t do without my two dishwashers,
as I hate dirty dishes standing around,” she says. The generously
proportioned refrigerator is also essential. “Food is stored
either there or in the pantry. I don’t fetch fresh fruits and vegetables
until it’s time to prepare a meal,” she says. Which kitchen
appliance does she appreciate the most? Without hesitation she
points to her Combi-steam oven, which is integrated into the wall
unit. “This appliance is the absolute highlight of my kitchen,” she
answers. “Steaming is one of the healthiest ways of preparing
food. That preserves valuable vitamins and minerals, as well as
the aromas and colours of the food.” And what kinds of meals
are served in the household of a nutritional consultant? “Of
course I pay great attention to serving healthy food,” says Vicki
Lee. “I’m very relaxed about everything else. My husband and I
eat lots of salads and grilled fi sh, and the children’s favourite
food is pasta. Actually, there’s almost nothing that’s off limits as
far as I’m concerned.” Only processed foods are frowned upon.
When the lights go on in the evening, the inner life of the extension
really comes into its own. The Lees have brightened up the
cool atmosphere of their kitchen by adding a back wall of natural
stone, attractive wooden furniture and an expressive cocoon
lamp designed by Tobia Scarpa hanging above the dining table.
In the evenings the kitchen is the centre of family life, just as it is
in the mornings. David Lee sits at the table unwinding from his
working day with a glass of wine. The children are enjoying the
appetisers. Friends often come round for dinner. The conversation
focuses on politics and football while people chop vegetables
or prepare salad ingredients. One couldn’t imagine a more
pleasant and relaxed atmosphere. And because the cooking and
dining areas are not separate, the conversation continues while
the dishes are cleared away between courses. “It’s an ideal
kitchen, and for us it’s a dream come true,” says Mrs. Lee. She
has certainly got exactly what she wanted: a house with lots of
character and charm and a harmonious combination of work and
daily life. “After all, when you’re cooking and everything is just
perfect, the food is always much better,” she says. ¤

Best Practice 19

20 Kitchen Love
What does your ideal kitchen look like, Mr. Müller?
It’s important that the work runs smoothly. That’s why the design
has to make sense; in other words, it must correspond to the
logical relationships between the individual elements. People’s
tastes may diff er, but their sense of logic is the same.
Does that also apply to your own kitchen?
Of course. Our kitchen consists mainly of a long worktop and
a small table in front of the window — my favourite spot. From
there you enter the dining room, which has a wood-panelled
ceiling that makes it look like a small inn. Through the old compound
windows we can see our long garden and its apple trees.
Please tell us something about your family’s food culture.
For us, food is important, in terms of its cultural and social aspects
alike. I think it’s a sign of trust and friendship if you invite
people to come to your home for a meal. As far as food itself
is concerned, we value authenticity — so we primarily buy
organic, regional and seasonal products. We also use food very
economically, so we seldom have to throw anything away.
Is there a rule of thumb that applies equally to the work of a
chef and an architect?
I often use the structure of a three-part chord. Contrasting elements
— whether they are the materials of a structure or spices
when you’re cooking — should be in a balanced relationship. For
example, a dish could be sour, salty and sweet. In the cuisine
from my home region, you fi nd that combination in Maultaschen,
or Swabian ravioli, served with potato salad. The Maultaschen
The architect Hendrik Müller, who was born in Böblingen
in the Swabian region of Germany in 1973, operates the
architectural practice eins:33 together with his partner
Georg Thiersch. Both of them studied at the State Academy
of Art and Design in Stuttgart with instructors including
David Chipperfi eld. Müller’s award-winning showrooms,
trade fair presentations and corporate interiors have largely
shaped the brand presentations of companies such as
Gaggenau. The fi rm has also designed insurance company
head quarters in Beijing, business parks in Dubai, chalets in
the Alps, a company cafeteria for Porsche and an exquisite
little stationery shop. Together with his wife Sandra and son
Matti, Hendrik Müller lives and cooks in Munich.
“ Bad lighting is a cardinal sin”
Hendrik Müller on kitchen logistics, food
culture and Swabian ravioli Interview: Cornelia Haff
are the salty component, the fried onions bring in a bit of sweetness,
and the potato salad provides the sourness.
You’re starting to wax lyrical!
Well, it’s my favourite dish. As far back as I can remember, on
Good Friday my grandmother always made Swabian ravioli. They
were aff ectionately called “Herrgottsbescheißerle” — “little tricks
played on the Lord” — because hidden inside them was meat,
which you were not allowed to eat on that holy day. This ritual
has been passed down from one generation to another, even
here in Munich, our “exile” from Swabia.
Your architectural practice operates internationally. What
gastrosophical discoveries have you made during your travels?
You learn a lot about a country’s culture when you eat a meal
together with local people. In China, people eat their meals
around a circular table with various dishes in the centre, from
which you simply help yourself. The table is round because in
China the circle has a cosmological signifi cance. In Tehran,
the hospitality I received made me absolutely dizzy. Ever since
then, my biggest fear has been that my hosts from Tehran will
come to visit me — that would mean my fi nancial ruin.
The cardinal sin in a kitchen is...
...bad lighting. The kitchen is the centre of the home, largely as a
result of anthropological evolution. In the past people gathered
around the hearth because it was the only source of heat; today
the kitchen is the centre of people’s social life. Fluorescent lighting
on a kitchen ceiling is a real mood-killer. ¤
PHOTOGRAPHY: MONIKA HÖFLER (LEFT), BENNE OCHS (RIGHT)

1 Salad servers
made of horn, Lorenzi
My wife and I spent a lot of time in
Turin and Milan for professional
reasons. The local cuisine and the
Italian way of life have strongly
infl uenced us. These salad servers
remind us of the time we spent in
Italy. They come from a traditional
shop in the Via Montenapoleone
No. 9 in Milan.
2 Olive wood bread knife,
Manufaktur Windmühlen
This bread knife does its part
every morning when we’re making
breakfast to ensure that the
day gets off to a good start. The
smooth handle of olive wood
and the good cutting properties
of the Solingen blade make it a
pleasure to use.
5
3
3 Wrought-iron frying pan, Turk
Heavy, indestructible, rustic. This
frying pan is an essential kitchen
utensil for me, because I love
quick-fried foods. It transmits heat
optimally and closes the pores of
meat quickly. That way, steaks
and my Swabian fried beef with
onions stay nice and juicy. It was
a present from good friends.
4 Pepper mill, Zassenhaus
I inherited this 1960s pepper mill
from my grandmother. The pepper
mills that are mass-produced
today are certainly superior in
terms of their ceramic grinders,
but their design is less elegant,
and instead of being made of
solid cherrywood they’re made of
beech wood stained to look like
cherrywood.
1
7
6
2
5 Casserole, Le Creuset
During the winter months my wife
and I like to cultivate the tradition of
the Sunday lunch. Our favourite is
beef stew made on top of the stove
in this cast-iron casserole from
Le Creuset.
The casserole evenly distributes
the heat and requires very little
energy. It was one of the fi rst investments
we made in our shared
collection of kitchen equipment.
6 Nuovo Milano cutlery from
Ettore Sottsass, Alessi
Even today, deciding on a cutlery
pattern still has something very
fi nal about it. We wanted to
have something that’s long-lasting
and timeless, so we chose this
classic design. In my opinion,
the curved lines, balanced form
and matte fi nish of the stainless
steel are the purest expression
of harmony and grace.
7 Ceramic bowls, Spin
These one-of-a-kind bowls from the
Chinese porcelain company Spin
caught my eye during my fi rst
visit to Shanghai, as I was eating in
the Japanese restaurant Shintori.
As a memento of the special
evenings I spent there, I bought
bowls, plates, mugs and vases
from Spin. Their uniqueness livens
up every table.
4

22 Thinking the Future II
Back to the Roots
Organic vegetables, heirloom varieties and wild plants
are ushering in a renaissance of nature in the kitchen
Text: Adam Gollner

Today many of the world’s best
restaurants are finding creative
ways to emphasise seasonal,
local, organic and rare produce.
Some chefs are starting to plant their
own gardens; others are
foraging for plants; and many
cultivate meaningful relationships
with nearby growers.
Homegrown
23
PHOTOGRAPHY: PURESTOCK/GETTY IMAGES

Potatoes as luxury items
Horticulturalists are returning
to the centuries-old heirloom varieties
that are far more fl avourful,
including the most expensive potato
in the world, La Bonnotte, which
tastes like chestnuts.
Rare
varieties
The taste of fresh vegetables
is a reminder that no scientific
process can replicate these vegetables’
real flavours. Modern technology
cannot generate or duplicate the
delicate notes of a perfectly steamed
sunchoke or the tang of just-picked
celery leaves. That’s why even the
world’s most avant-garde
chefs rely on rare vegetables.
PHOTOGRAPHY: IMAGES ETC LTD/GETTY IMAGES

Tucked away on a dusty stretch of land in Rancho Santa Fe,
the richest neighbourhood in the United States, is an unassuming
wooden shed. The Chino Farm Vegetable Shop is small, and
the 60-acre farm is nothing fancy. But as the rainbow of ingredients
on display testifi es, the vegetables grown there are out of
this world. There are blue carrots, candy-coloured Chioggia
beets, purple-fl eshed Japanese yams and green-black bunches
of dinosaur kale. Tiny Brussels sprouts, no bigger than fresh
peas, nestle together in baskets like furled emeralds. The mara
de bois strawberries are known to reduce grown men to tears.
So many diff erent kinds of lettuce, radish and turnip are available
that the diversity is almost dizzying. Numerous Chino Farm
specialities — from stinging nettles to the Japanese green called
mizuna — are never available in supermarkets, which is precisely
why they’re so in demand at fi ne restaurants.
Famed chefs including Wolfgang Puck (Spago) and
Alice Waters (Chez Panisse) made their names by fl ying Chino
Farm produce to their California kitchens. Celebrity chefs
have come to rely so heavily on innovative producers like the
Chino family that the term “rock star farmers” is often used
in the media. There’s a revolution in motion, and vegetables are
leading the way.
Dishes listed on the menu as meat-based arrive at the table
gloriously strewn with colourful plants. In the past, boring and
bland vegetables detracted from enjoying the meat to the full.
Today, however, meat simply amplifi es the taste of delicious,
unusual and super-fresh produce. “When in season, fresh vegetables,
herbs, spices and wild plants play a prominent role in our
dishes,” explains chef René Redzepi of Copenhagen’s Noma
(see also new spaces 04), widely considered one of the world’s
best. “Consequently, greens take up more room on the plate
than is common at gourmet restaurants.” Noma is not alone, as
one can see from a visit to any restaurant that works with a grower
like Chino Farm. The best place to do this in San Diego is
George’s at the Cove. It is a sleek, ocean-front establishment in
the seaside village of La Jolla, a San Diego enclave as exclusive
as Beverly Hills and almost as ritzy as Rancho Santa Fe. One of
its specials is braised oxtail. As carnivorous as it sounds, it is
actually more vegetal than meat. The oxtail arrives entwined with
tiny leeks, chanterelle mushrooms, baby chard, pan-crisped nettles
and diced chives. Every mouthwatering bite of meat is complemented
by the incredible tastes and textures of nature.
About a decade ago, George’s had the reputation of a
surf-and-turf tourist trap with a staid menu. Today, the menu is
refreshing and vital — and its reinvention is due entirely to chef
Trey Foshee’s decision to showcase Chino Farm’s vegetables.
He and his team drive out there almost every day to source their
ingredients. “We call it ‘intensely seasonal’ cooking; using ingredients
that aren’t just fresh, but at their absolute peak of fl avour,”
Foshee says. A typical Foshee menu item such as carrot salad
might seem plain, unappetising even, at fi rst glance. But when
made with a variety of Chino Farm’s luridly-coloured carrots —
scarlet, white, violet — that have been mandolined paper-thin and
served alongside kumquats, honey and spiced yoghurt, it takes
on an almost overwhelming fl avour.
Intensely seasonal ingredients don’t need to be transformed
much in order to create something truly delicious. Often,
the simplest preparations are the fi nest. The key is knowing
how to present them, how thin to slice them, how long to blanch,
roast or fl ash-fry them, and how to combine them with one another.
Top chefs today can break down vegetables in the same
way a butcher prepares choice cuts of meat. Readying these
vegetables takes serious time, vision and experience, which is
why diners are willing to pay so much for them.
At the Restaurante Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, vegetables
plucked from an outdoor garden adjacent to the iconic
Geh ry building are treated with the same fi nesse as the priceless
artworks within the museum walls. The poetic, Zen-like vegetarian
tasting menu includes things like steamed black radishes
and endive confi t. “I have started to plant wild vegetables like
black salsify, lamb’s lettuce and red thistles,” explains the restaurant’s
Basque chef, Josean Martínez Alija. “Eco-vegetables will
be the new luxury.”
Alija is articulating a growing realisation around the world that
truly luxurious food isn’t about ostentatious, expensive ingredients;
it’s actually about tasting the authentic bounty of the
earth. These vegetables, rare and local, are a way of exploring
the exoticism of our surroundings, of experiencing an elusive
sense of place.
“ Carrots will be
the new foie gras.”
Massimo Bottura
Thinking the Future II 25

26 Thinking the Future II
“ We comb the
countryside for
berries and herbs
that others would
not bother with.”
René Redzepi
Chef Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy,
was named the top chef in the world in February 2011 because
of his ability to connect his native traditions with the future.
He puts it unequivocally: “Carrots will be the new foie gras.”
To get an even more “intensely seasonal” taste on diners’
plates, more and more restaurants are doing what Alija does:
tending to their own vegetable gardens. In Canada’s Montreal,
the lively high-low restaurant Joe Beef plants a large summer
garden right in the backyard terrace. It overfl ows with plump
heirloom tomatoes, squash fl owers and patches of obscure
herbs. (When they run out, sous-chefs have also been known to
snatch heads of ornamental cabbages and chard from Montreal’s
city parks).
Another chef and gardener, Michael Hoff mann of Berlin’s
Margaux, is best known for his world-famous eight-course vegetarian
menu, the “Voyage de Légumes”, which costs around
€140 per person. Many of the ingredients are snipped from his
own 2,000 square metre garden, which houses over 70 varieties
of herbs and vegetables. Lola and Bill Zimmerman, owners of
the Herbfarm Restaurant, located just a stone’s throw outside
Seattle, Washington, have cultivated an organic farm as well as
a lavish garden where exotic herbs such as sweet cicely and
caraway thyme wait to be sprinkled into dishes. Specialities
such as their bay leaf clafoutis and the stinging nettle and lovage
soup mirror the excitement of the garden outside. “Having a
garden today is a luxury,” explains Michel Pitrat, French biologist
and author of Histoire de Légumes. Our modern world is no
longer an agricultural society, he says, and what was once a way
of life is now a privilege. The peasant foods of the 17th century
— turnips, carrots and potatoes — are now luxury commodities
cultivated in exclusive gardens.
In addition to sourcing vegetables from domestic gardens,
many chefs are now picking their own wild vegetables. At
Noma in Copenhagen, known for its extraordinary application of
vegetables, chefs hunt for ancient oddities found in the wild
forests and brambled alleys of their cities. “We comb the countryside
for berries and herbs that others would not bother with
and work with foods that aren’t part of any system of formalised
cultivation and consequently cannot be obtained through ordinary
channels of distribution,” explains chef Redzepi.
In September 2010, an elite group of vegetable-loving
chefs from all over the world gathered for the third “Cook it raw”,
an event initiated by the Copenhagen based “culinary consultant”
Alessandro Porcelli. The group, which included René
Redzepi, David Chang, Massimo Bottura and Daniel Patterson,
travelled to the wilderness near Levi, Finland, north of the Arctic
Circle in order to stalk authentic local foods by fi shing, hunting
and gathering berries. In the process they discovered herbs,
berries, roots, mosses, mushrooms and tender young fern
shoots that taste like green hazelnuts. They also tasted fresh,
sweetish birch sap, which has become a popular drink far beyond
its origins in Russia and the countries of the far north.
For some, including the creative minds at Coi in San Francisco,
the passion for foraging and the resultant culinary experience
transcend dining and move into the realm of performance art.
One of Executive Chef Daniel Patterson’s whimsical concoctions
is a dish titled “Abstraction of Garden in Early Winter”.
He predicts that the trend will continue to grow. “Wild-growing
roots, leaves, berries and fl owers of wild plants will be very important
due to their great emotional power,” Patterson says.
This romantic aesthetic can be traced in part to the
Laguiole based chef Michel Bras, whose iconic 60 ingredient
dish, the Gargouillou, is a magical, fresh elevation of simple vegetable
composition. The Gargouillou, which has been riff ed
on by chefs around the world, is a playful homage to the French
countryside — some versions even include a “dirt” made from
black brioche crumbs and powdered tomato. ¤
Further information
Chino Farm, 6123 Calzada Del Bosque, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067, USA
www.chezpanisse.com; www.wolfgangpuck.com
www.noma.dk; www.georgesatthecove.com
www.restauranteguggenheim.com; www.osteriafrancescana.it
www.joebeef.ca; www.margaux-berlin.de; www.theherbfarm.com
www.coirestaurant.com; www.michel-bras.com

Fresh, local, organic vegetables
aren’t just for food activists —
they’re for people who love delicious food.
And as we try to navigate the divide
between postmodern
molecular dining and a yearning for the past,
a number of trail-blazing
chefs are finding their own paths, through
their backyard gardens and
shaded forests and nearby farms,
where the earth’s
secrets wait to be discovered.
Good
ideas
From the earth’s bounty
The future lies in forgotten
herbs and vegetables
such as black carrots.
PHOTOGRAPHY: DARQUÉ/PHOTOCUISINE

28 Thinking the Future III
“ We’re Reinventing the Wall”
Meissen, a porcelain-maker with a long and
illustrious history, is to become an innovative,
high-tech company for luxury products
Text: Tobias Moorstedt
PHOTOGRAPHY: SVEN DÖRING (LEFT), ZOOEY BRAUN/ARTUR (RIGHT)

Forward-looking boss
Meissen’s Managing Director Christian Kurtzke,
seated here in the atelier for guest artists, holds
the future of the porcelain manufactory in his
hand: one of the new wall elements made of
porcelain (left). Porcelain tiles like those of the
Style World Royal /Opulent will lend rooms
the ultimate in elegance. Precious metals such
as gold and platinum are added by hand to the
tiles, which are made of Meissen porcelain.

Look of luxury
Gold applied to the surfaces of the
wall elements in this wine cellar has
given them a high lustre.

PHOTOGRAPHY: KILIAN BISHOP (LEFT), ROLAND HALBE/ARTUR (BOTTOM RIGHT)
Perfection and quality
Unlike conventional tiles, the elements in Meissen’s
Architecture range are individually made of Meissen
porcelain. The quality control measures ensure
perfection — right down to the most minute detail.
The work day is starting on the right note for Christian Kurtzke.
An employee is entering the light-fi lled room on the top fl oor
of the Meissen porcelain manufactory in Meißen, Germany, to
show the managing director a prototype of the new product. The
man holds a tray on his outstretched palms and walks with careful
steps. At fi rst it’s impossible to see what he is carrying on the
tray — a fragile work of art, a piece of jewellery? Only when he
comes closer is it clear that the “tray” itself is the revolutionary
product: a fl at porcelain “tablet”, deep white in colour. Kurtzke
takes the tile in his hands, feels the surface and weight, scrutinises
the colour in the light and says: “Perfect. Perfect. A very
lovely off -white.” The former business consultant now sounds
like the creative director of a fashion label just before an important
show in Paris — full of enthusiasm, energy and self-confi -
dence. And the comparison is fi tting: Starting in 2011 the
porcelain tiles, the latest creation of the Meissen porcelain
manufactory, are to be used as wall coverings that will become
an indispensable feature of today’s interior design.
Kurtzke moved into the top management position at the
company three years ago. At that time, the porcelain manufactory
was in a precarious fi nancial situation, with high debt and was
posting losses. Kurtzke was basically on a “do or die” mission at
the fi rm, which was founded in 1710 by the alchemist Johann
Friedrich Böttger and Augustus the Strong, Elector
of Saxony, and had dominated the European porcelain market
for centuries. But he didn’t hesitate for a second. “Aside
from Gaggenau, there are few brands with a comparably long
history,” he says. His objective is to ensure that the Meissen
brand — generally associated with bibelots and porcelain plates
decorated with onion motifs — will be liberated from the china
cabinet and rococo vitrine and advance through the entire home.
In spring of 2011 in Milan, the company opened Villa
Meissen. The opening was timed to coincide with the Salone
Internazionale del Mobile, the epicentre of the design scene.
Villa Meissen is a noble palace in the immediate vicinity of Gucci,
Louis Vuitton and Dior. And Kurtzke believes this is exactly
Thinking the Future III 31
where the brand belongs. Kurtzke created the departments Fine
Art, Fine Living and Meissen Architecture, and he wants the
fi rm’s future earnings to come primarily from limited artworks,
interiors and the wall coverings. Later the portfolio is to be expanded
to include fabrics, furniture and carpets. The French
brand Hermès is a kind of role model for Meissen.
So far the strategy is delivering the desired results: In
2010 the company grew by up to 70 per cent in the high-end
segment. Sylvester Stallone just recently purchased three
diminutive pug dog fi gures from the jewellery collection. Over
150,000 euros were paid for vases and fi gures at an auction in
London. The aim is to double turnover in the next ten years.
Standing in the manufactory’s Architecture Studio and
looking out over the historic centre of the town of Meißen, Kurtzke
is confi dent that the porcelain wall coverings, seen here in an
endless range of colours, covering the walls and tables, will be
a great success. Meissen is already supplying luxury hotels and
top design studios. The porcelain is being used in the fl agship
stores of the watchmaking company Lange & Söhne and will
soon also be found in Gaggenau’s showrooms. “The high quality
and long tradition are a good fi t for us,” says Sven Schnee,
head of Gaggenau International. “It’s particularly appropriate for
the partnership that Meissen makes one-of-a-kind items and can
meet our special requests.”
The idea for Meissen Architecture came to Kurtzke during
a visit to Dresden Castle, when he was viewing the castle’s
famous “Fürstenzug” (Procession of the Princes), a gigantic
mural on 25,000 porcelain tiles. The surface has survived for
more than 100 years outdoors, undamaged by the elements and
by a World War II fi re. The fragile porcelain has clearly demonstrated
just how tough it is. “That isn’t just artwork, it’s a technology;
and there should be demand for it,” Kurtzke thought to himself.
Porcelain has material characteristics that make it
interesting for interior designers and architects. Unlike their
mass-produced counterparts, porcelain tiles aren’t dry-pressed;
they are cast, which makes them absolutely watertight even without
glazing or joint adhesive. Porcelain is also non-toxic and
Stylish ambience
Because the Meissen porcelain tiles are cast,
they are perfectly suited for use in bathrooms.

32 Thinking the Future III
Perfected hand craftsmanship
Tasks ranging from the moulding of relief elements to the
manual mixing of pigments produced in the company’s own
lab — the employees’ knowledge and experience is the
fruit of the manufactory’s more than 300 years of history.
food-safe. “It is the product of a traditional skilled craft, but nevertheless
green technology,” he says.
Kurtzke fi rst ate from Meissen porcelain when just a boy, at
least on important occasions. “We also had the onion pattern at
home,” he says. The 41-year-old executive doesn’t only refer to
concepts like “turnaround” and “change management”; he also
often uses art history terminology. And he does so with a passion.
“Art belongs to a decent education,” he says. The history of
the manufactory, he has learned, reveals that the directors were
never concerned exclusively with balance sheets and logistics,
but instead also signifi cantly infl uence artistic trends. Kurtzke
also sees himself as a designer, which is why he often makes
recommendations to experienced department heads and workers
when it comes to new colour tones or shapes. “I have a
good instinct for what will go down well on the market.”
Unfazed by his dusty workplace, Kurtzke is always on the
go in a tailored suit, adorned by the manufactory’s crossed
swords symbol in the form of a pin on his lapel. American politicians
wear a U.S. fl ag lapel pin to show their patriotism; Kurtzke
wears his pin to say that Meissen isn’t a stepping stone for
him, but rather his life’s work. Whenever he has time he moves
through the labyrinth of corridors and cellars of the expansive
Meissen facility, updating his inner navigation system and viewing
the inventories. Sometimes, he says, he feels like an archaeologist
who has just opened a burial chamber.
“We have 700,000 designs and over 200,000 products
from three centuries in our archives — from centrepieces to accessories,”
he says. Kurtzke always takes along his smartphone
so that he can take photographs of fi nds, which he later shows
to employees and customers. He has found, for example, a cup
shape from 1760 whose clear lines and elegant design give it
“an amazingly modern look”. The design appeared on the market
in 2010 as espresso demitasse — and more than 10,000 of
the cups have been sold to date. It used to take two and a half
years to bring a new product line to market. “One reason for that
was that people always thought in terms of a complete service
with many pieces.” In the 21st century it is also necessary to
produce individual pieces, gift sets and spontaneous ideas. “We
think in cycles that last a few weeks,” says the managing director.
Hanging on one wall of the Architecture Studio are large,
arcane-looking wooden tools — straightedges, compasses and
perpendicular forms that were once used to make wall coverings.
They aren’t just for decoration, but rather to remind architects,
designers and major customers that the products are
hand-crafted. A walk through the undecorated hallways underlines
this claim. The dust in the air and the strong smell of pigment
emulsions are proof “that we really are a manufactory”.
The museum, which is located next to the production halls and
ateliers, attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year. This is
where all the opulent statues, porcelain animal fi gures with luminous
colours and lots of gold are housed. The museum’s architecture,
however — with its large windows, straight lines and
exposed concrete surfaces — is a far cry from the brand’s baroque
roots. “The Architecture range will have an entirely new
look,” says Kurtzke. “The plan is to complement the opulent,
regal and baroque aesthetic that people associate with Meissen
with clean, modern design and thus appeal to a young, urban
target group. We’re talking about the birth of a classic with clear
lines, matte colours, simplicity and understated grandeur.”
Porcelain is modern by virtue of the fact that it is a multifaceted
product. It combines nature and technology, artisanry of
ancient origins and high-end design. In the production area the
wall elements are ready, resting on metal stands alongside cups,
plates, vases and fi gures. Here too it’s clear to see that the product
family is growing. The tiles are still in their natural state, greyish
white in colour. “We can mix any imaginable colour here at
the fi rm,” says Kurtzke. “That enables us to react quickly and
satisfy even very unconventional customer wishes.” The fl exibility
and diversity of the production process is also inherent in the
material itself. An endless variety of shapes can be cast — not
only smooth tiles, but also off -beat patterns and surface structures.
What’s more this is possible without having to resort to
milling or pressing. The managing director can also perceive
fi gural or three-dimensional designs — for example a coat hook
that “grows” out of the wall, surreal scenes, boundless possibilities.
“We’re reinventing the wall here.”
Sven Schnee also fi nds these characteristics very interesting.
In collaboration with the Meissen manufactory he is planning
an addition to the Gaggenau brand’s corporate architecture,
which will be unveiled in 2011 in Beijing. The idea calls for
porcelain to be used for the Gaggenau Heritage Wall, instead of
old-growth fi r wood from the Black Forest. “There’s a wonderful
tension between nature and high-tech,” says Schnee, who sees
the design as a true example of trompe l’oeil, a work of art or
craftsmanship that creates an illusion. And that’s where Meissen
has a wealth of expertise. ¤
(RIGHT)
BRAUN/ARTUR ZOOEY
Further information
www.meissen.com PHOTOGRAPHY:

Authentic material
The Böttger stoneware used for this wall covering
isn’t only the very fi rst Meissen material;
it is also one of the most authentic materials
used in the company’s Architecture
range. It is made by hand in the “Rote Münze”,
a manufactory within the manufactory.

34 Gaggenau Online
Compact Content
new spaces online
Selected articles from the current print version of new spaces
are now online at www.gaggenau-newspaces.com — so you
can enjoy them anytime, anywhere. On the homepage the user
will fi nd an overview of the topics covered and a brief synopsis
of each article. The individual articles can be selected separately
and are then presented complete with their images and in
their original text length.
Users can download the articles as PDF fi les showing either
the original layout as it appeared in the magazine or a text-only
Convenient and
reader-friendly
The online edition of
Gaggenau new spaces
off ers new functions
in several languages.
version. In an image gallery feature, the photos from the chosen
articles can be called up with captions.
In addition to the German and English versions new spaces
now off ers online editions in French, Spanish and Turkish that
can also be selected on the homepage. For reading enjoyment
at a later date, readers can archive all the print versions — so the
new spaces online off erings can be experienced and used in
as many diverse ways as the Gaggenau brand’s entire Internet
presence. ¤ PHOTOGRAPHY:
COURTESY OF APPLE

Gaggenau
new spaces 09
Focus on the United Arab Emirates
1.
Gourmet Cooking on the Green
The Gaggenau mobile showroom
visits Dubai
For several weeks in late 2010, the guests at the renowned
Montgomerie Golf Club in the Emirates Hills district of Dubai
were treated to an unusual sight: contrasting with the
deep green of the golf course was the striking silhouette of
the Gaggenau mobile showroom. Together with the luxury
hotel chain “The Address”, the club had arranged a series of
unusual culinary excursions for the mild and sunny month of
November under the aegis of top chefs from the hotel chain
and the Armani Hotels Dubai. The culinary arts on show
ranged from regional cuisines such as those of India and
Japan to innovative European cuisines — masterfully celebrated
in the showroom’s airy atmosphere. One of the golf
club’s highlights was the BEO Masters Tournament on 23rd
November, organised in cooperation with Bang & Olufsen.
For this event, the mobile showroom was designed as a
sensuous environment where sounds, images and culinary
treats created a unique multidimensional experience.
Sights and Scenes 35
Culinary delights
In the Gaggenau mobile
showroom, visitors to the
Montgomerie Golf Club in
Dubai were spoilt by
outstanding chefs.
PHOTOGRAPHY: MARTIN PFEIFFER (2)

36 Sights and Scenes
2.
“I’m really proud of this diversity”
TV chef Suzanne Husseini from Dubai reinterprets traditional
Arabic cuisine and celebrates its ingredients and sophistication
Text: Carole Corm
New interpretation
Vegetarian moussaka made
with chickpeas and sliced
aubergine cooked with
cinnamon, mint, pine
nuts and grenadine syrup.
Chefs rule! Imagine Middle Eastern
cuisine sustained by expert chefs. Local
dishes and traditions would be celebrated,
organic farming encouraged and
fresh produce abundant. That would not
be a bad development for a region that is
in the midst of redefi ning itself.
Enter Suzanne Husseini, a Palestinian
chef based in Dubai who exudes
optimism and a “yes we can” attitude.
Through her TV show “Sohbe Taibe” and
her book When Suzanne Cooks (Motivate
Publishing) she has modernised the
rich repertoire of Middle Eastern cuisine.
“My goal is to disprove the misconception
that Arabic recipes are complicated,”
she explains. “Of course there are some
fi ddly things, but there are also a lot of
fresh and healthy dishes. Arabic cuisine
is like an orchard.”
Although women are the ones cooking
at home, on Arabic television the
chefs are often men. For years, they
would mumble in dowdy kitchen shows
about how to make mahshi malfouf
(stuff ed cabbage with rice) and outdated
Western recipes like beef stroganoff . But
now Ms. Husseini — impeccably dressed
and with a touch of eyeliner that makes
her look like an Italian actress — is on the
air, explaining everything from fattoush
(peasant salad) to kibbeh (meat ball
croquettes) with contagious optimism.
“A beautiful bouquet of fresh herbs inspires
me to cook,” she concedes. Such
a relaxed style strikes a chord with the
younger generation of Middle Easterners.
The Emirate’s expat community,
eager to learn more about a local cuisine
they know little about aside from shawarma
and hummus, has also been seduced.
Perhaps it was her upbringing in chilly
Ottawa, Canada (her parents emigrated
when she was very young) that made
Suzanne Husseini appreciate Arabic
food so dearly and wish to teach others
about it. In Canada, it was something that
linked her to the world the Husseinis had
left behind.
During her schooldays, she recalls,
“my unusual lunches were initially considered
intriguing but eventually they became
cool. My mother would make mountains
of falafel. I would often take some
to school, and for a while I got teased by
classmates who were baff led by my exotic
lunches. But when they tasted them
they loved them and soon I was taking
orders.”
Ms. Husseini’s dream was to become
a teacher. “I always felt I was born to
teach,” she says. She taught in schools,
lectured on nutrition to adults, and was
even a Pilates instructor. But cooking
was to become her most popular class.
Armed with her childhood recipes — “my

A chef with star appeal
Suzanne Husseini has an
impressive presence. She’s
bringing a fresh new perspective
to conventional cooking
shows on Arabic TV.
mother made her own Arabic bread,
jams, hummus, cheese and labneh (thick
yoghurt dip)” — she eventually started to
teach cooking classes in Dubai.
Ms. Husseini hopes she can change
people’s attitude toward food. “This is the
land of generosity and hospitality. Sadly,
so many of those beautiful rituals of cooking
meals and eating at home have been
replaced with dining out.” Even Middle
Eastern restaurants seem to have lost
their way, she laments: “Going to a restaurant
is almost predictable. The choices
are always the same. The good home
cooking has remained at home, and I
don’t understand why.” Through her passion,
she wants people to rediscover
what they have lost. “I want families to
37
cook together again and savour the joy of
eating together. I want children to be
welcomed into the kitchen to learn about
how real healthy food is prepared and
share in the process. Arabic food has
access to so many great ingredients. I’m
really proud of this diversity.”
Her philosophy, which has gained her
the support of Gaggenau, also resonates
with larger trends in the cooking world.
She does live cooking at Gaggenau
events and also uses the new Gaggenau
mobile kitchen at special events such as
the recent Bride Show in Dubai.
Her recently published cookbook,
When Suzanne Cooks, was sponsored
by Gaggenau. “I wanted to do a very special
book that would justly represent this
elegant and sophisticated cuisine,” she
says about this beautiful cookbook,
which was photographed and styled by
Petrina Tinslay and Alison Attenborough,
who have also worked with Nigella Lawson
and Vogue Food.
Ms. Husseini is currently in negotiations
concerning an Arabic and an English
cooking programme. Gaggenau will
most probably be involved in these
projects as well. This lively chef’s typically
Levantine skill of appealing to Western
and Arab audiences alike will take her far
— and so will her contemporary interpretations
of great traditional Arabic dishes.

38 Sights and Scenes
3.
Ecological Dreams from the 1,001 Nights
The oil will dry up at some point. The United Arab Emirates are therefore
preparing now for the future by promoting sustainable architecture
Text: Petra Thorbrietz
The fi rst step
The Masdar Institute of
Science and Technology
will be powered exclusively
by solar energy
(above and above right).
PHOTOGRAPHY: ROLAND HALBE, ARCHITECTURE: NIGEL YOUNG/FOSTER + PARTNERS
The most beautiful Oriental dreams
used to begin with simple clay. Bricks
were formed by hand, hardened by the
hot sun and used to build narrow, creatively
formed houses — each man was his
own architect. The architecture was simple
but effi cient. Narrow alleys provided
shade between the low roofs covered
with palm leaves. The sides of the houses
were covered with a mixture of fossilised
coral and shell limestone — a material
that retained little heat. The scarce drinking
water came from rainwater collected
in cisterns or from carefully guarded
springs. The only available raw materials
came from the desert, the air and the
sea, and they were ideally suited to ensure
survival in this extreme climate. In
the winter, the nomads responded to the
call of the desert and moved with their
tents from one oasis to the next. It was a
life straight out of the 1,001 Nights.
One has to keep in mind the history
of the people living along the Arabian
Gulf to understand the changes taking
place in the region today. The dominance
of individual Arab tribes that went back
for thousands of years was replaced in
1971 by the establishment of a world
power: the United Arab Emirates, consisting
of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman,
Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah and
Fujairah. Under the leadership of several
sheikhs and backed by the oil boom, the
region has caught up with the industrial
nations in less than two generations. Its
achievements include high-rise buildings
made of steel and glass, six-lane highways,
shopping malls, swimming pools
and electric air conditioning systems.
But no sooner was this prosperity
achieved than its end already loomed.
What will happen when the oil runs out?
No other country has posed this question
as radically.

The fairy tale of endless wealth has been
transformed into the story of renewable
energy sources. Today the region is striving
to become the mecca of state-ofthe-art
environmentally friendly technologies,
a creative space for experimentation
and a “brain lab” for the global society.
“We want to create a Silicon Valley for
alternative energy sources here,” says
Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, CEO of the Abu
Dhabi Future Energy Company. His government
has commissioned him to create
the world’s fi rst city that is free of emissions,
waste and automobiles — as an
example for the rest of the world. Work
on Masdar City, this visionary “ecopolis”
located 30 kilometres east of the capital
city Abu Dhabi, has been under way
since 2008. It was originally scheduled
for completion in 2016, but the international
fi nancial crisis has not spared the
oil-producing countries. The original ambitious
concept had to be abridged and
the construction schedule was slowed
down. The target date for completion is
now 2025.
Some inhabitants of the city, whose
population should one day reach about
50,000, have already moved in. They are
students and instructors at the Masdar
Institute of Science and Technology, the
world’s fi rst university devoted exclusively
to research into ecological sustainability
based on innovative energy sources.
They form the creative heart of a technology
park consisting of some 1,500 fi rms
and institutes which, because of their
location in the middle of the desert, will
also be part of the experiments they are
designing. The aim is to demonstrate that
humans are adaptable and can preserve
their habitat despite climate change and
diminishing natural resources.
The central element here is architecture.
The British architect Norman Foster
has based his concept of a “green” city
in the desert on traditional Arab settlements.
The houses stand close together,
separated only by shaded alleys covered
by transparent photovoltaic elements.
Instead of high-rises that have to be
cooled down using a lot of energy, there
are traditional heat-regulating wind towers,
combined with modern renewable
energy-generating technologies such as
cold pumps reaching deep into the earth.
Energy is generated by wind turbines
outside the city and the world’s largest
solar power facility, which consists of
100,000 modules on an area the size of
ARCHITECTURE: NIGEL YOUNG/FOSTER + PARTNERS (ABOVE), PHOTOGRAPHY: PANOS PICTURES/VISUM (BELOW)
39
A visionary in the desert
The British architect Norman
Foster, who was commissioned
to plan the ecologically
friendly Masdar City, is
modelling the city on the
architectural concepts of
traditional Arab settlements.

40 Sights and Scenes
A 21st century oasis
Honeycomb constructions that are
open at the bottom act as huge chimneys
or cooling towers and ensure
heat exchange. A garden on the
top storey off ers space for taking a
walk, almost outdoors (below).
500 football fi elds. The concepts for the
city’s infrastructure come from renowned
think tanks of the international science
and industrial communities, such as the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
BP, Rolls Royce, Bosch Solar Energy
and the RWTH Aachen. The implementation
will cost 22 billion US dollars.
All of the city’s energy will come from
renewable resources. Drinking water will
be produced from sea water using solardriven
desalination facilities, waste will be
recycled and automobiles will be banned.
To move around in the city, the inhabitants
can use the automated electric cab-
Shadowed alleys
The buildings are close together,
just as they are in the
traditional architecture of
the region. Solar panels
provide additional shade.
ins that constitute the public transportation
system, or they can walk as their
ancestors did before them.
Masdar is setting high standards in a
region whose inhabitants currently consume
twice as much energy as a German
and 25 percent more than an American.
No other country is squandering its raw
materials more carelessly at the moment.
A litre of petrol costs the equivalent of 27
ARCHITECTURE: FOSTER + PARTNER/COURTESY: MASDAR CITY (RIGHT), COURTESY: MASDAR CITY (LEFT)

euro cents, and a kilowatt-hour of electricity
costs only a sixth of that amount.
During their summer holidays, many families
leave the air conditioning on in their
empty apartments so that it will be pleasantly
cool when they return. And the recently
opened spectacular 828-metre-tall
Burj Dubai tower, the world’s tallest building,
requires up to 150 megawatts of
power — one and a half times as much as
the solar fi eld of Masdar, 130 kilometres
away, can produce.
But superlative constructions can
also be environmentally friendly, as is
demonstrated by the football stadiums in
the neighbouring emirate of Qatar, which
will host the World Cup in 2022. The
nine stadiums that are to be built and the
three existing ones that must be upgraded
will use sophisticated heat pumps
fed by solar plants. The heat will be transformed
into cool air that fl ows down
across the rows of seats until it fi lls the
arena. The coolness will be needed, as
temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius and
85 per cent humidity make it diffi cult to
play football. But Sheikh Mohammed bin
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani promises the
players and spectators comfortable temperatures
of 27 degrees in the world’s
fi r s t C O 2 neutral sports stadiums. If all
goes according to plan, the modularly
designed stadiums will be dismantled
after the event and reused elsewhere.
The energy and climate balance sheet is
also becoming increasingly important
in Dubai, a metropolis with a population
of 2.5 million which has a reputation for
being open to even the most daring architectural
designs. In 2008 the government
declared that all new buildings must have
green credentials. Of course “ecologically
chic” buildings on the Arabian Gulf are
much more ambitious than the modest
A city of shadows
The tilted façades and
gigantic solar panels on
the roofs ensure that hardly
a sunbeam reaches the
ground (left and below).
41
zero-energy houses being built in Europe.
For example, the technology-obsessed
architect David Fisher designed
the fi rst skyscraper that would rotate
around its axis, a 400-metre-high building
with 80 movable storeys. It was supposed
to generate ten times more energy than it
consumes, thanks to solar panels and
built-in wind turbines. However, this fascinating
work of art was never built, be-
An energy miracle
In the administrative centre of Masdar
City the air rising because
of the heat is turned around.
COURTESY: MASDAR CITY (3)

42 Sights and Scenes
The future lies in the desert
Masdar City from the air:
The ecologically friendly
city is surrounded by
sand that reminds one of
the moon’s surface.
cause its creator landed in an Israeli jail
after being convicted of an economic
off ence. Similarly revolutionary is the
concept behind the Oasis Tower, a vertical,
energy-neutral farm that is to unite
plant beds, aquariums, ponds for fi sh
breeding and stalls — including, of
course, a biogas plant for generating
methane. This project, whose purpose is
to make the desert fruitful by these unusual
means, was conceived by the Indian
designer Rahul Surin. His objective is to
help agriculture, one of the world’s biggest
environmental polluters, to become
a clean method of production — without
PHOTOGRAPHY: ABACA PRESS/ACTION PRESS
the use of soil. The water used for this
purpose is to be permanently recycled
and reused as much as possible. This is
meant to reduce the high volume of food
imports into the Emirates — a process
that additionally increases the carbon
footprint — to zero. One project that was
not just created on the drawing board but
actually realised was the O-14 offi ce complex
in Dubai completed in 2009, a futuristic
22 storey building with a façade that
looks like Swiss cheese. More than 1,000
holes that look like the portholes of a
ship let light into the building, even
though the thick concrete façade simultaneously
shields the interior from the heat
and creates a passive cooling system
between the façade and the inner skin of
the building. The design for this beautiful
workspace came from Jesse Reiser and
Nanoko Umemoto and their New Yorkbased
RUR Architecture Studio.
The Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas
has designed a new environmentally
friendly desert city for Ras al-Khaimah,
the northernmost Emirate, which is also a
central trade hub. The Gateway Eco City
is to be built primarily from locally available
materials, free of emissions and
waste, and powered by state-of-the-art
solar technology. Many narrow alleys and
green squares will make the city an aesthetically
perfect “techno-oasis”. The
construction is to be fi nished in 2012.
The Dutch are renowned not only as
architects but also as landscape designers.
They too are threatened by rising sea
levels due to climate change. Waterstudio,
a Dutch company specialising in the
experimental fi eld of fl oating architecture,
has designed a mosque that fl oats on
water for Dubai. In blogs, an astonished
public is discussing the pros and cons of
this construction, which looks like one
of Walt Disney’s fairytale worlds. The
issues under discussion involve aesthetics,
sustainability and climate neutrality,
but also some very practical matters.
One blogger writes, “How am I supposed
to leave my sandals outside the door?”
It’s a good question.
Further information
www.masdarcity.ae

3
What’s Next?
New Projects around
the World
4
5
1
2
What’s Next? 43
1 THE SKY RING Kaohsiung (Taiwan) / Maritime and cultural centre / X_TU
Architects (Anouk Legendre & Nicolas Desmazières with N. Jomain,
M. Chapus, R. Péquin, T. Van Gaver) / Competition entry / www.x-tu.com
2 FOOTBALL STADIUM FC BATE BORISOV Barysaw (Belorussia) /
Stadium / OFIS Architects / Completion scheduled for 2012 / www.ofi s.si
3 ONE OCEAN PAVILION Yeosu, South Jeolla (South Korea) / Building for
Expo 2012 / soma Vienna with local partner dmp / Completion scheduled
for February 2012 / www.soma-architecture.com / Rendering: isochrom
4 WAVESCAPE Yeosu (South Korea) / Exhibition pavilion / Y Design Offi ce
and AQSO / Design suggestion / www.ynotwhy.com
5 COMER TIERRA Miami, Florida (USA) / Church / maison hubertz (Bryce
Hubertz and Marit Gamberg) / Competition entry / www.maisonhubertz.com

Magic with Light
In Lisbon, Carlos
Gonçalves has
created a residential
property with its own
distinctive poetry
Text: Anuschka Seifert

Projects 45
Striking contrast
The lovely old façade facing the
Rua Pedrouços was fully integrated
into the new construction.
The very modern River Houses on the outskirts of Lisbon are
a kind of time machine. Just a fi ve-minute walk away from here
is the historic heart of the city, with the famous Hieronymites
Monastery, the legendary lighthouse tower and the ultra-modern
Belém Cultural Centre. The Portuguese architect Carlos
Gonçalves, 50, had always dreamt of building a luxury residential
complex that would be an exclusive island almost in the centre
of the city. Every day he drove his car over the cobblestones of
the Rúa Pedrouços to the city centre, past lovely villas and stately
two-storey homes built of granite and covered with peeling
dusty rose stucco.
Gonçalves loves these quiet symphonies of his city, its
“unmistakable perfume”. It smells like the Atlantic, whose
scent wafts through the streets on a gentle breeze that drives the
cheerful whirr of the trams before it. “Simpático!” Time and
again, Gonçalves imagined what could be done with these beautiful
buildings, how they could be rescued and made to elegantly
span the arc between tradition and modernity.
“There used to be a solid row of ruins standing here. A
mechanic even set up his auto repair workshop in one of the
mansions,” he recalls. “Everyone is working feverishly to rebuild
Lisbon into a world-class city. Old buildings, which elsewhere
would have become protected landmarks long ago, are being
demolished everywhere.” Glass palaces are suddenly rising out
of the ground in the midst of romantically crumbling ruins and
these ambitious projects are forgetting to take their surroundings
into account.
Gonçalves suspected it would only be a matter of time
before the little mansions were demolished and vanished forever.
But one day his architectural practice, Atelier de Arquitectura,
was contacted by the property developers at the leading
company Leirimundo, who asked if he could imagine transforming
the old buildings in the Rúa Pedrouços, numbers 111 to

“ When we come home,
architectonic clarity
and the play of light
and shadow put us
in a meditative state
of well-being.”

The magician who plays with light
Sunlight and shadows dance on the facades —
Lisbon is justly famous for its glistening light.
Equipped with Gaggenau appliances, the kitchens
are the apartments’ communications centres.
123, into a luxury residential development. “It was a moment of
unbelievable good fortune,” he says.
Gonçalves drove to the site, where he sat day after day in the
garden facing south to the river. “I observed the light from
morning until evening on sunny days and rainy ones. I wanted to
know exactly how the light breaks, how it changes, whether the
adjacent buildings cast shadows and how the shadows wander
across the walls.” Then he climbed up onto the red roofs
and discovered much more: a view of the elegant Restelo-Belém
district; the ultra-modern Centro Cultural de Belém, which is
only fi ve minutes away and is built of the same stone as the Hieronymites
Monastery; and the lighthouse tower, a symbol of safe
passage for mariners and the hallmark of Lisbon.
The devastating earthquake of 1755 spared this part of
the city. Since the catastrophe, Rastelo-Belém has been the
preferred place of residence for Lisbon’s wealthy citizens, aristocrats
and diplomats. The Tagus River at this point is as wide as a
lake. In the distance the “White City” rises up from the riverbank
to the peaks of its seven hills. Gonçalves turns to face north,
where Monsanto Park stretches as far as the eye can see. Mediterranean
pines are intermingled with old trees brought from the
former colonies. Night is slowly settling over Lisbon. Moonlight
makes the Tagus glitter. For the architect, this is pure luxury.
“This is the best site in the city for building an elegant, exclusive
residential complex,” he says.
Back in his atelier, Gonçalves didn’t go to his drawing board
— “No, I almost never work there” — nor did he draw plans. He
simply sat down before a large white canvas and began to paint,
letting his newly acquired impressions of light, colours and
materials, of the site and the character of the buildings nearby,
fl ow into the River Houses project.
Gonçalves is an artist, a virtuoso, a seducer who uses
perspective to turn light, stone and glass into a changing fabric,
a mannerist who plays with the vocabulary of contemporary architecture
and a minimalist design idiom. Light, the river, the
landscape and the urban context are all integrated; the outer
form and the inner areas fuse seamlessly into a whole. He is an
archaeologist who uncovers the substance of a structure, a passionate
poet of space whose walls are never white, because
light and shadow are engaged in a continual, constantly shifting
dialogue. The property developers let themselves be seduced.
Gonçalves was at the construction site every day for two
years. “I was fortunate to get to know a few of the buyers personally,
so we were able to generate ideas together. I designed
the other apartments as if they were meant for me and my best
friends.” Today the River Houses comprise four complexes with
14 spacious, light-fi lled apartments. It was possible to completely
integrate the beautiful façade in the Rúa Pedrouços; one
old mansion was gutted and two buildings were reconstructed.
“When the door to the street closes behind you, you are immersed
in a diff erent world,” says Gonçalves. The clear lines
and the alignment are reminiscent of Bauhaus architecture, but
the eff ect is not rigid, thanks to rolling lawns and pop art-like
lighting. The fl oor lamps in the garden area balance out the stringent
coolness. “Our everyday lives are chaotic enough,” says
Gonçalves. “People go on trips just to feel time that is diff erent
from their daily routine. Here one travels via a time machine to a
place that is restful and relaxing.”
It’s delightful to sit with a book under the pergola on the lightfl
ooded terrace and “do nothing for the rest of the day but sink
into this magical quality of time and occasionally lift one’s gaze
to scan the surroundings.” In the newly constructed residential
complexes the sunlight is refl ected on the green tiles, whose
undulating surfaces suggest the delightful freshness of river
water. “Fortunately, I was able to use only the best materials,”
says Gonçalves. The fi nest jatoba wood, normally used in ships,
was used for the parquet fl oors; the huge marble slabs in earth
tones, clear shades of grey and pitch black come from the best
Portuguese quarries.
Rooms in the middle of the apartments which are normally
dark feature light slits that create atmosphere. Gonçalves’
approach to darkness is elegant. He lets daylight fl ow in as
though it were cascading through the interior, down from the
third fl oor, along the staircase and into the cellar rooms. Transitions
between the walls and the double ceilings are cleverly
backlit with a narrow band of light to form a new “horizon”.
Gonçalves loves to cook. The kitchens are meticulously
thought out and completely equipped with Gaggenau appliances.
“I wanted to make sure that one could walk all the way
around the range, which is equipped with induction cooktops,”
he points out. Everything you need is within easy reach. Smaller
kitchen utensils, as well as the fridge-freezer combination, the
dishwasher and the microwave, are just an arm’s length away.
Gonçalves believes the kitchen is a centre of communication
and should be integral to a residential interior. “From here
there is an unobstructed view of the living area, and the garden
is right outside the fl oor-to-ceiling sliding glass door,” he says.
He has created a unique ensemble, “a little paradise,
where the rooms breathe”. There’s a feeling of an architectonic
space with its own poetry, tones and rhythm. Gonçalves is a
magician of light. He is also a researcher who cites the past in
the present, writing the ongoing history of a place that is located
somewhere between the enchanted trees of the holy mountain
Monsanto, the White City and the Tagus. ¤
Further information
www.aacg.pt
Projects 47

48 New Products
A Revolution in Cooking Comfort
By heating cookware regardless of where it’s
placed, the new full surface induction cooktop
improves flexibility in the home kitchen

Pioneering technology for a new generation of cooktops: The
new CX 480 full surface induction cooktop makes cooking
child’s play — while also lowering energy consumption. For the
fi rst time ever, the new cooktop concept transforms the entire
surface into a cooking zone. As a result, cookware is heated
regardless of where it has been placed. Neither the sizes nor
the static positions of the pots or pans, of which up to four can
be used simultaneously, make any diff erence. When cookware
is moved, the cooktop recognises the new position and continues
to operate reliably. This feat is made possible by 48 microinductors
located under the glass ceramic surface. The microinductors
are arranged in lines and displaced sideways from one
another. Thanks to an especially large TFT touch display, the unit
can be operated quickly and easily. The shape, size and position
of the cookware is indicated on the display. Just a light touch of
your fi nger on the control panel is suffi cient to select the cooking
position and activate or adjust the power level. Using an information
key, current information can be called up at any time.
Incidently, all that’s required to convert the induction cooktop
into a Teppan Yaki is the use of the special accessory from the
Gastronorm system. ¤
Product information
CX 480 Full surface induction cooktop
Dimensions 80 cm wide
Variants Stainless steel frame
Frameless
49
Features A single large cooking surface of approx. 2,800
square centimetres, free placement of cookware
of any shape and size, simultaneous use of up to
four items of cookware, maximum power for large
items of cookware of up to 4.4 kW, user-friendly GAGGENAU
colour TFT touch display with indications for use
Further information www.gaggenau.com PHOTOGRAPHY:

50 Thinking the Future IV
London’s Serpentine Gallery in the Spotlight
A tea pavilion in Kensington Gardens
is a playground and a future workshop
for architects. It is rebuilt every year
Text: Josephine Grever
PHOTOGRAPHY: 2007 JOHN OFFENBACH, OLAFUR ELIASSON AND KJETIL THORSEN, PAVILION SERPENTINE GALLERY 2007

2007
Olafur Eliasson and Kjetil Thorsen
Around this 15 metre high circular construction,
a ramp enclosed in white nylon cables spirals upward, bringing visitors
up to the level of the treetops in the park.
51
PHOTOGRAPHY: 2007 LUKE HAYES, OLAFUR ELIASSON AND KJETIL THORSEN, PAVILION SERPENTINE GALLERY 2007

52 Thinking the Future IV
“Temporary structures
are always laboratories
where new methods
and materials can be tried out.
They give us a hint of all
the things that are possible.”
Julia Peyton-Jones
2001
Daniel Libeskind
Mounted on a wooden platform are 18 diamond-shaped
elements covered with aluminium.
Visitors have dubbed this geometric labyrinth “Euclid on Acid”.
PHOTOGRAPHY: 2007 HÉLÈNE BINET, DANIEL LIBESKIND WITH ARUP. PAVILION SERPENTINE GALLERY 2001

Peter Zumthor is one of the outstanding architects of our time, on a level with Jean
Nouvel, Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind, Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Oscar Niemeyer
and SANAA. But one thing sets him apart: Zumthor has never built anything in London,
whereas each of the others has created at least one building there. But now the Swiss
architect is fi nally catching up. He has been commissioned to design this year’s summer
pavilion of the Serpentine Gallery in London’s Hyde Park. That means his name
can be added to the list of prominent avant-garde architects who have in eff ect left their
business cards here in the heart of London. The summer pavilions — each of which
stands in the park for three months — demonstrate what their creators are capable of
when they are free of the pressures of bureaucratic planning and nagging clients and
can experiment to their heart’s content on the green lawn next to the gallery, pushing
their ideas to their limits.
After all, that’s the idea behind the summer pavilion. “Temporary structures are small,
but they communicate their designers’ individual design vocabularies just as clearly
as permanent projects do. They are laboratories where new methods and materials can
be tried out. They give us a hint of all the things that are possible,” says Julia Peyton-
Jones, who has been the gallery’s director since 1991. “Another major objective is to
guide the discussion of contemporary architecture in a positive direction,” she adds.
As a result, the summer pavilions have become a highlight of London’s cultural
calendar. The best architects compete for this commission, and it doesn’t take Peyton-
Jones long to fi nd illustrious partners. The pavilions off er a glimpse of the future and
provide urban planners, entrepreneurs and politicians with food for thought. They are
ahead of their (respective) time — and a review of previous pavilions gives us an overview
of past visions of the future.
In 2000 Peyton-Jones had the idea of making the lawn next to the gallery a platform
for renowned architects every summer. The briefi ng she gives to every architect
she selects has remained unchanged down to the present day. The challenge is to design
and build a “walk-in artwork” measuring 300 square metres in six months. Its central
interior space is to serve as a café in the daytime and as a venue for concerts, fi lms
and discussions in the evening. The only requirement is always that the participant
must not have built anything previously in the British capital. The budget is small. The
materials are provided free of charge by construction companies that sponsor the
project together with numerous private individuals and other companies. The pavilions
open in July and remain standing for three months. These restrictions represent a
real challenge to the star architects. They can give free rein to their creativity, realise
bold new ideas, be playful, try things out — and test the reactions of the public.
At the turn of the millennium, Zaha Hadid, the queen of geometric extremism, started
the series with a simple tent whose asymmetrical canvas roof was supported by steel
beams. In 2001 Daniel Libeskind presented 18 diamond-shaped elements covered with
aluminium and mounted on a wooden platform. Visitors somewhat mockingly dubbed
this geometric labyrinth “Euclid on Acid”. In 2002 Toyo Ito’s austere cubist construction
of steel and glass, with walls whose prism-like structure opened up ever-new vistas
into and across the building, was a huge public favourite. In 2003 Oscar Niemeyer tilted
the walls of his pavilion, which were made of steel, aluminium, concrete and glass,
arranged them in waves and topped them with a curving canopy. His golden rule is:
“Every project, be it large or small, should be capable of being summed up in a simple
drawing.”
Rem Koolhaas designed an infl atable hot air balloon made of translucent nylon
in 2006, and in the following year Olafur Eliasson and Kjetil Thorsen created a 15-metre-high
circular construction around which a ramp enclosed in white nylon cables spiralled
upward, bringing visitors up to the level of the treetops in the park. Frank Gehry
created a construction made of wooden planks and glass surfaces pointing diagonally
53

54 Thinking the Future IV

2010
Jean Nouvel
A building made of steel, plastic and fabric
that is open on all sides: Jean Nouvel’s pavilion grew dynamically
out of the ground at a 45 degree angle.
PHOTOGRAPHY: PHILIPPE RUAULT, ATELIERS JEAN NOUVEL, PAVILION SERPENTINE GALLERY 2010. VG BILD-KUNST, BONN 2011

2006
Rem Koolhaas
An infl atable hot air balloon made of translucent nylon
that is in close contact with the wind and the sun.
PHOTOGRAPHY: 2007 JOHN OFFENBACH, REM KOOLHAAS AND CECIL BALMOND WITH ARUP, PAVILION SERPENTINE GALLERY 2006. VG BILD-KUNST, BONN 2011.

“In the morning, the joggers come
and read their newspapers. Others bring
along their laptops and do their work.
In the evenings we are a forum for sharing
artistic and intellectual expression.”
in various directions. In 2009 the Japanese architectural fi rm SANAA charmed visitors
with a construction of feather-light aluminium that fl oated above Hyde Park like a
silver cloud, whereas Jean Nouvel’s scarlet structure of steel, plastic and fabric grew
dynamically out of the ground at a 45 degree angle in 2010.
The Swiss art historian and curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, who has been the gallery’s
co-director since 2006, devised “intellectual experiments” for the evening events.
One of these was an interview marathon, a series of public conversations that combined
presentations, discussions and performance elements. No less popular were the
“sleep overs”, in which visitors joined artists and musicians in the pavilion to explore the
“psychedelic elements of sleeplessness”. Obrist likes to tell about the constantly
changing play of activity in the pavilions: “In the morning, the joggers come and read
their newspapers. Later on, visitors come for lunch. Others bring along their laptops
and quietly sit there doing their work. In the evenings we are a forum for sharing
artistic and intellectual expression. In the summer our pavilions are one of the most
heavily frequented places in London.”
The pavilions are sold in the autumn. “The sale of the pavilions covers 40 percent
of our costs,” says the gallery. Zaha Hadid’s construction from 2000 was bought
by the Royal Shakespeare Company and used as a summer house for readings and
workshops in front of its theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon until 2004, when it was sold
to an amusement park. Subsequent constructions decorate the gardens of private collectors,
whose identity the gallery will not reveal. The only publicly known fact is that
three of the pavilions are owned by a single collector. Architecture has thus become a
collector’s item.
Peter Zumthor is not overly enthusiastic about this idea. “Constructed spaces are
there to be used,” he says soberly. “They give you a roof over your head to keep out the
rain.” The steadfastly down-to-earth approach taken by Zumthor, who was born in
Basel, Switzerland, in 1943 and began his professional career as a cabinetmaker, has
made him a cult fi gure. Each one of his projects is based on precise attention to detail,
painstaking craftsmanship and the harmonious interaction of topography, materials,
design and light. “I always let the location inspire me,” says Zumthor, who has won many
awards for his purist style. “If you have a good client who really wants to create something
special, the result is architecture that has a sensuous connection with life and
goes far beyond design and construction,” he adds. The only thing he will divulge about
his own design, which will stand in Hyde Park starting in July, is: “Imagine a boy who
is making his dreams come true. He looks at the site, thinks about what he needs, and
makes his creation as harmonious as possible.” ¤
Further information
www.serpentinegallery.org
Hans Ulrich Obrist
Thinking the Future IV 57

58 Worldwide
Gaggenau
new spaces 07
365
Gaggenau
new spaces 08
Gaggenau
new spaces —
the Award Winner
In 2010/11, Gaggenau new spaces was
again honoured with several prestigious
awards. In addition to the coveted
iF communication design award (in “print
media — corporate communication” category),
the magazine was a winner of the
newly founded International Corporate
Media Award in the category “Customer
Magazines, Business to Business
(B2B)”. And new spaces took home a
third trophy — the long-standing Good
Design Award of the Chicago Athenaeum
in the category “Graphics/Identity/
Packaging”.
www.ifdesign.de
www.corporate-media-award.com
www.chi-athenaeum.org
days
See page 34
15,040
cm See page 48
2
Pattaya
Thai Polo Open 2011
More than 800 guests enjoyed the creations
from the Gaggenau mobile kitchen
during Thailand’s most important polo
championship, which took place at the
Thai Polo & Equestrian Club in Pattaya.
On 22nd January members of Thailand’s
royal family, international VIPs, polo fans
and journalists gathered at the club to
follow the action of the charity event
up close. Awaiting them was not only
the big sporting fi nale, but also a diverse
programme including a motor show,
children’s polo and a performance by
the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra.
The guests were presented with exquisite
culinary delights from a mobile Gaggenau
kitchen equipped with an oven, a
Combi-steam oven, a warming drawer
and Vario 400 series induction cooktops
— the perfect choice for this
occasion, where the live-cooking
atmosphere enhanced the sporty and
elegant character of the event.
www.gaggenau.com
Moscow
Gaggenau Academy
of Culinary Art
The new top address for gourmets in the
Russian capital opened last autumn:
The Gaggenau Academy of Culinary Art
presents Gaggenau appliances in an
inviting workshop ambience of superlative
quality. The cooking academy is 20
kilometres from the centre of Moscow, in
the newly developed Benelux district on
the Novorizhskoye Chaussee. Realised
in collaboration with the Russian partner
“Design Project”, the showroom is completely
equipped with Gaggenau appliances
and available for exclusive cooking
events. Renowned chefs from the Moscow
area will present their art here and
provide practical insights and information
related to the functions of Gaggenau
products to present and future owners.
The classes with master chefs will be
complemented by courses on dining culture
and fi ne wines, always in harmony
with the featured menu.
www.akademiya-gaggenau.ru

Singapore
Mobile Gaggenau:
Audi A8 Premiere
Prominent Hollywood fi gures turned out
for a double premiere in Singapore. From
1st to 3rd December 2010 the new Audi
A8 was presented in the event spaces at
the futuristic venue The Promontory @
Marina Bay, with a spectacular accompanying
programme. Journalists, industry
professionals and selected guests were
on hand to witness the much-anticipated
unveiling of Audi’s new luxury icon. The
prominent invited guests included the
two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey
(The Usual Suspects, American Beauty),
American investor Jim Rogers and the
music star and screenwriter Dick Lee of
Singapore. A talk show gave the spectators
an ample opportunity to learn about
the VIP guests. Tantalising refreshments
were provided by bartenders from the
Bangkok scene bar Hyde & Seek, who
were fl own in specially to display their
skills in the mobile kitchen. The favourite
cocktails in the tropical climate of the
open guest pavilion included the “Berry
Gaggenau”, a creation made with fresh
cherries, violet liqueur, vodka, Maraschino,
lime juice and sugar, and the “Latin
Winter” consisting of steam-baked Fuji
apples, spices, vodka and citrus juice.
www.gaggenau.com; www.audi.de
London
bulthaup Showroom
presents the AC 402
A premiere awaits visitors to the showroom:
The new Gaggenau ceiling
ventilation system AC 402 can be experienced
here for the fi rst time in London.
A bulthaup showroom equipped with
Gaggenau appliances opened in the
heart of London’s Holland Park district
on 1st December 2010. Many experts
and journalists attended the opening to
learn all about this new showcase of
the Bavarian company based in Aich,
Germany. The showroom’s design is
in keeping with the bulthaup concept
“Living Spaces”, which can be adapted
to fl exible lifestyles and residential
concepts. This is where architects, planners,
project developers — and also end
customers — can experience the perfect
interplay of bulthaup kitchens and
Gaggenau appliances.
www.bulthaup.co.uk
Zurich
André’s Cooking
Academy
Cooking with the professionals: When it
comes to the culinary arts, André’s Cooking
Academy is one of the most creative
addresses in Zurich. The host at the
academy, André Jaeger, founded the
culinary school with friends, with the aim
of creating a modern, appealing setting
for teaching special cooking skills and
knowledge of food products from around
the world. His off erings also include special
events, for example olive oil seminars,
and Japanese cooking workshops led by
Zurich-based chef Sala Ruch of the restaurant
Sala of Tokyo. Ticino-based Rico
Zandonella (of the Rico’s Kunststuben
restaurant in Küsnacht) uses the academy’s
Gaggenau appliances for his imaginative
cooking in the tradition of the legendary
star chef Horst Petermann, who
is also a frequent guest of André Jaeger.
And for festive occasions, private customers
and companies can also book the
spaces at the Cooking Academy, which
feature the most upscale kitchen design.
www.andres-cooking-academy.com
59
PHOTOGRAPHY: A NAKARIN (ABOVE LEFT)

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