Is this the future of our kitchens?
March 22nd, 2012
When we’re asked to think about how home appliances may work in the future we often fall back on ideas that will satisfy our inherent desire to do less.
Yes, we are a lazy lot and we don’t really want to use our energy handwashing clothes or dishes.
So we recall The Jetsons and cross our fingers that robots like the lovely Rosie (right) will simply do everything for us.
Smart appliances are certainly lightening our loads but with the exception of robotic vacuums, electronic house help is nowhere near our reality.
This thinking, what was once considered thinking ‘outside the box’, might it now be a little narrow minded?
While the tech whiz kids – the Japanese – have been figuring out how to bring Rosie into our homes, entrants in an Electrolux DesignLab competition were asked to come up with a kitchen for people living in 2050.
One contestant set laziness aside. He thought of what the reality in 30 years might be like and figured: overcrowded.
So he nutted out the ultimate kitchen space saver, the multitasking shelf.
It’s an all-in-one kitchen – in a wall mounted shelf.
It can cook, light, refrigerate, and air condition. And when it’s not in use it’s a simple benchtop.
The Elements Modular Kitchen was designed by Matthew Gilbridge (USA) and works by running electricity applied through the walls.
Several units can be put together to work simultaneously through wireless smart networking.
When a section is not being used to say, cook, or light, it acts as a storage unit, much like an ordinary bench.
Genius.
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