IKEA's Digital Kitchen Table Cooks Up Recipes
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The Table for Living is part of IKEA's Concept Kitchen 2025 project with design firm IDEO. It is wooden table with electronics and induction cooking coils embedded. Photo by IDEO

Photo By IKEA/IDEO

The Table for Living is part of IKEA's Concept Kitchen 2025 project with design firm IDEO. It is wooden table with electronics and induction cooking coils embedded. Photo by IDEO

Residential furniture retailer IKEA and IDEO, a global design firm, along with a group of 50 students from Ingvar Kamprad Design Centre at Lund University in Sweden and the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, took a stab at what the kitchen of the future will look by 2025 by designing and developing Concept Kitchen 2025, which was on display in April for attendees at the Milan Furniture Fair.

 
50 design students from Ingavar Kamprad Design Centre at Lund University and the Eindhoven University of Technology worked with IKEA and IDEO to develop this kitchen of the future concept. Photo by IDEO

According to IDEO, the goal was to not only conceptualize the future of the kitchen but what it would feel like to cook, eat and socialize in that space in the not so distant future. Many considerations influenced the design including the idea that living spaces will become increasingly smaller as more people move into large cities and urban spaces, the impact of technology in all aspects of our lives and the evolution of grocery delivery services. Also, climate change and its impact on food availability, cost and waste were key considerations.

The pantry has opening shelving embedded with induction-cooling technology to keep the containers at the right temperature. Photo by IDEO

The concept kitchen is composed of four main areas: The Modern Pantry, The Table for Living, The Mindful Sink and The Thoughtful Disposal. Features of the pantry include open shelving and RFID packaging stickers that work with induction-cooling technology embedded on the shelves to keep those packages at the right temperature. The table is a true inspiration combining a camera and projector positioned above it and induction coils beneath its surface for cooking. Place an item on the table and the camera records it, pulls up a recipe and projects it on the table along with cooking instructions. The sink is a pivoting basin to encourage water consumption and the disposal allows the user to sort the waste, which is then crushed, vacuum-packed and labled for pick up.

The recycling area allows the user to sort the waste, which is then crushed, vacuum-packed and labled for pick up.

IKEA’s kitchen and dining range manager Gerry Dufresne describes the kitchen as “a tangible communication of what the behaviors of the future will be.” For more details about the project, visit conceptkitchen2025.com.

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Michaelle Bradford | Editor

Michaelle Bradford, CCI Media, is Editor of Closets & Organized Storage magazine and Woodworking Network editor. She has more than 20 years of experience covering the woodworking and design industry, including visits to custom cabinet shops, closet firms and design studios throughout North America. As Editor of Closets & Organized Storage magazine under the Woodworking Network brand, Michaelle’s responsibilities include writing, editing, and coordinating editorial content as well as managing annual design competitions like the Top Shelf Design Awards. She is also a contributor to FDMC and other Woodworking Network online and print media owned by CCI Media.