Appassionato

Abstract

The way people are cooking is shifting. Were people have had gas hobs for a long time it is now changing to cooking on induction. Cooking on gas will be banned from 2050 on and is disappearing already. The way induction hobs are implemented at the moment is with a glass plate on top while still taking up space on the countertop like with a gas hob. Boretti thought of a solution to use another kind of ceramics able to have the looks of all kinds of materials like marble or nature stone. The concept provided by Boretti at the starting point of this graduation project was a standalone oven with this induction hob solution on top. The assignment was to create a version totally integrated into the countertop since the whole countertop can be made of the same ceramics. To make a design that fits the needs of possible user groups, fit with the trends at the moment and in the future and suit the ways of living from 2021 on, an analysis was performed. Main conclusions were the shift in the marketing Boretti has to make., the change of the way people are living, house are becoming more open, smaller houses in cities are getting more expensive and multifunctionality of space with also making more connection between living room and kitchen are trends to take into account. This results in design changes in kitchen blocks, the need for better air circulation and purifying and multifunctionality in countertop space. The analysis was followed by an ideation phase in which partial problems were tackled with different solutions. The topics ideated on were the user interface, multifunctionality cooking zone indications and the integration possibilities of a combined air extractor and air purifier. This ideation resulted in three different concepts were combinations of partial solutions were made. After making three different concepts, two were combined. The new combined concept has an accessory bar that breaks up the countertop surface into a living part and a cooking part. This accessory bar has space for a range of simple accessories to things like a Boretti water tap. Personalisable Qi charging spots can be chosen while the consumer configures the countertop. To make sure the surface above the cooking zones can be used totally for other purposes, the control interface is not fixed. This interface is a smart rotational knob with which all cooking zones can be controlled. The final concept is a kitchen island version is worked out in detail. The control knob has a light ring which refers to a gas burner and has haptic and visual feedback for the intensity of the selected zone. The main USPs are the multifunctionality and styling made possible with the material, an improved orientation during cooking and the smart knob. Since there will be differences in the needs and configurations consumers will want to have for this concept. A range of product is suggested to Boretti around this concept.