Alfredo Häberli Design Development

In the near future, «food» will continue to stand as a symbol of «life», since the harvesting of food, its preparation and consumption is shaped by cultural and social rules and is seen as man’s very own cultural act; it is the beginning of all crafts and most clearly reflects the evolution of our civilization. Today delicate and critical questions raises about nutrition: how will sensuality be preserved if, in the future, food is produced in laboratories and reduced to the supply of protein? What will the kitchen of the future look like if we need to find solutions for preventing food waste?

These thoughts are an important part of today’s discourse about how to feed the planet. The concept would therefore like to bring the kitchen and the preparation of food back into focus. As the soul of the house, the kitchen is the link to the adjacent zones of the home, as well as the cultural activities connected with it – and thus forms the space for Sense & Sensuality. The design deals with the subject of degrowth, both plastically and architecturally. In order to kindle a different way of thinking, the installation was divided into four layers:

The first layer is the floor, which consists of loosely laid bricks. They divide the space and create different zones of different heights. The noise generated when walking on the bricks and the archaic nature of the material are intended to slow the visitor down in a sensual way. The second layer is the abstract architecture. Its strong colour is a deliberate choice: it provides a visual separation from the surrounding exhibition hall, is a striking eye-catcher and separates the various areas and their functions in a living situation. The third layer is that of everyday life. Here, familiar objects such as furniture and accessories are presented, expressing the presence of humans. However, the objects are curated with a slight twist and arranged in a way that confuses the observer. The last layer consists of a concentrated number of newly invented kitchen utensils that can be discovered. However, rather than being shown in reality, these objects only become visible thanks to an augmented reality app for Apple and for Android.