Ernestomeda, leader in the high end designer kitchen market, has the pleasure of presenting Icon, the new kitchen styled by Giuseppe Bavuso and presented during the last edition of Eurocucina.
The guidelines for the Icon Project were functionality and design, clean aesthetics and technical performance: Icon is a kitchen marked by the expressive simplicity and emotional force needed to meet the various user expectations and satisfy everyone who loves rationality and functionality without having to give up the heart of things.
One key, distinctive feature of the programme is the creation of the “AIR” door, a patented solution that involved a conceptual rethink of the conventional kitchen storage unit: the door is equipped with a ventilation filter concealed in the panel, which aids exchange of the air trapped inside, ensuring optimal food conservation. Thanks to the installation of the ventilation filter in the concealed side and holes in the inner door panel, the air entering the interior will be cleaner. The door performs even better close to heat sources (such as an oven) or close to zones with variations in air pressure (like the hood), because it increases the air exchange inside the cabinet, ensuring optimal conservation of foods. The perimeter seal provides airtight door closure, keeping dust and dirt out.
The project is characterized by various opening/closing systems used on most of the kitchen’s elements, such as the Flex wall cabinet, which combines initial vertical slide with a second phase in which the door rotates, giving access to the whole of the cabinet’s interior; from this position, the door is at a height where it can easily be reached to close it. One of the new programme’s distinctive features is the Evolution pull-out peninsula that can be extended to different lengths depending on requirements: it can be used retracted as a snack-top or extended as a dining-table, with length adjusted to suit the number of diners. Evolution is customized in many materials and is also available in the ANNEX fixed version.
The CAN-DO and INDOOR cupboard systems feature, respectively a pantograph opening mechanism and a concealed door opening system. Both are able to take appliances - which may be either visible, in a specific section, or concealed - with the aid of the exclusive “Ernestomeda Safety Oven Switch Off” safety system. This is an electronic device fitted when appliances are built into cupboards, which monitors power draw-down when the cabinet door is closed. Once electricity consumption exceeds 100 W, if the cupboard door is not opened within 90 seconds of the warning buzzer sounding, the system automatically switches the appliance off for complete safety. The Reflex illuminated wall cladding, with LED backlighting, provides uniform, soft lighting, also reflected by the satin finish steel hoods: the Sail and Mistral island versions and the Ramp wall hood.
Icon also has tactile appeal. The sophisticated use of materials combines fine elements such as the concrete-look ICONcrete, food-approved material, developed by Ernestomeda, with more technical as plain surfaces like glass, Corian and heat treated wood available in a wide range of finishes.
Icon’s outstanding design and style contents have been recognised by a top international jury: the programme has been assigned the 2013 Red Dot Design Award. The design - chosen by a jury of 37 international experts who tested, examined and assessed 4,662 products from 54 countries worldwide - was a prizewinner within the ‘Product Design’ category, with the following motivation: “In this kitchen model, top quality materials create a warm, welcoming mood. Icon’s clearly drawn lines and elegant colours are irresistible”.
