PREISTRÄGER/INNEN 2024

Der Fonds PERSPEKTIVE und das Team des Büros für bildende Künste des Institut français Deutschland freuen sich, Ihnen die Gewinner*innen des Ideenwettbewerbs Architektur 2024 – Dream Kitchen – bekanntzugeben.

Die Preisverleihung findet am Freitag, den 8. November im Aedes Metropolitan Laboratory (Christinenstraße 18-19, 10119 Berlin) ab 19 Uhr in Anwesenheit der drei Preisträger, der Jury und der Organisatoren des Wettbewerbs statt. Außerdem wird eine Ausstellung der 10 besten Projekte des Wettbewerbs zu sehen sein, darunter die Gewinner und die besonderen Erwähnungen.

In diesem Jahr lud der Ideenwettbewerb zum Entwurf einer Küche ein, die den Herausforderungen unserer modernen Gesellschaft Rechnung trägt. Wie sieht die Küche in Zeiten aus, in denen in allen Großstädten Wohnungsnot herrscht? In Zeiten, in denen sich die Inflation immer stärker auf die Lebensmittelpreise auswirkt und Knappheiten – sei es nur der Zugang zu sauberem Wasser – das Leben von Millionen von Menschen bestimmen? Egal ob klein oder groß, drinnen oder draußen, gemeinschaftlich oder individuell, mit konventionellen Energieträgern und Lebensmitteln oder zum Experimentieren mit neuen Formen des Kochens – alles war möglich. Das Thema war bewusst eng umrissen und sollte allein durch die Vorstellungskraft und Kreativität der Teilnehmer*innen begrenzt werden (die Ausschreibung einsehen).

Insgesamt erhielten die Organisatoren 89 Bewerbungen aus Deutschland und Frankreich. Die eingereichten Projekte setzten sich aus vielfältigen Profilen zusammen, die sich sowohl durch ihren Werdegang als auch durch ihre unterschiedlichen geografischen Verankerungen auszeichnen. Die deutsch-französische Jury setzte sich zusammen aus: Sophie Delhay (Architektin und Gastprofessorin an der EPFL Lausanne, Schweiz), Lauriane Gricourt (Direktorin von Les Abattoirs, Museum – Frac Occitanie Toulouse), Jan Liesegang (Mitbegründer von raumlabor Berlin und Professor an der Bergen Architecture School, Norwegen) und MITKUNSTZENTRALE (Kollektiv von Architekt*innen, Designer*innen und Künstler*innen, bestehend aus Martina della Valle, Erik Göngrich, Susanne Schröder und Nora Wilhelm, das für die künstlerische Gast-Stätte SATELLIT in Berlin verantwortlich ist) (Weitere Informationen über die Jury).

Für diese Ausgabe hat die Jury entschieden, das Preisgeld von 10 000 Euro unter den drei besten Projekten aufzuteilen, d.h. 3 333,33 Euro pro Projekt. Mit der Entscheidung, diese drei Projekte gleichauf zu bewerten, erkennt die Jury ihre große Einzigartigkeit und ihre Exzellenz in ihren jeweiligen Bereichen an. Die drei ersten Preise gehen an (in alphabetischer Reihenfolge der Gewinner*innen):

„Harry’s Bude as Cuisine Commune, Cuisine Commune as Architektur“ von Fanti Baum und Sebastian Klawiter (München, Deutschland). Dieses Projekt überzeugte die Jury durch seine Idee, den bereits vorhandenen Raum einer Kirche so umzugestalten, dass dort Lebensmittel für Menschen in prekären Lebenslagen gekocht und verteilt werden können. Die Jury lobte das Engagement hinter dieser Idee sowie die symbolische Bedeutung, die mit der früheren Funktion des Kulturerbes verbunden ist. Das Projekt zielt darauf ab, einem bestehenden, prekären Ort für die Lebensmittelverteilung eine dauerhafte Struktur entgegenzusetzen, so dass „nichts ihn in Frage stellen kann“. Ferner wusste es die Jury zu schätzen, dass dieses Projekt nicht nur einen Ort für die Verteilung von Lebensmitteln schafft, sondern auch eine echte Gemeinschaftsküche entsteht, in der einmal pro Woche Mahlzeiten zubereitet werden, wodurch soziale Bindungen aufgebaut werden können und der Raum der Kirche so weit wie möglich für die Stadt und ihre Bewohner geöffnet wird.

„Gastrobahn“ von Yann Motreff (Paris, Frankreich) Das Projekt zeichnete sich sofort durch seine Originalität und die Kohärenz seines Konzepts aus. Es widmet sich einem wichtigen Anliegen unserer Zeit: der Ernährungsunsicherheit, von der über 8,5 Millionen Menschen in Frankreich und Deutschland betroffen sind. Die Idee zur Gastrobahn entstand aus der Erkenntnis heraus, dass zur Lösung des Problems ein 1760 km langer Esstisch gebaut werden müsste; eine riesige Infrastruktur, die quer durch Deutschland und Frankreich verläuft, um Mahlzeiten zu kochen und zu servieren.

„Soupes Populaires“ von Camille Rouaud (Uchizy, Frankreich) Die Jury war von der Bedeutung der Idee begeistert, die dem Prinzip der Suppenküchen mit einem „Cyberpunk-Twist“ einen neuen Anstrich verleiht, indem sie diese auf den rückwärtigen Teil von wiederverwendeten „Coupés“ verlagert, jenen hochwertigen Autos, die heute aufgrund von Umweltstandards meist nicht mehr gefahren werden dürfen. Auf diese Weise verleiht Camille Rouaud der Realität der extremen Armut in den Suppenküchen einen luxuriös gefärbten Touch und hinterfragt die sozialen Ungleichheiten unserer Zeit. „Das Projekt greift auf intelligente Weise die aktuellen ökologischen Herausforderungen auf, indem es diese umweltschädlichen Autos dank der neuen LPG-Technologie in Hybridfahrzeuge verwandelt, wobei dieses Gas vorteilhafterweise auch zum Kochen verwendet werden kann.“ Die Jury würdigte zudem die Art und Weise, wie Gastfreundschaft und der Gemeinschaftsgedanke in den Mittelpunkt des Vorschlags gerückt wurden, der sich an unzähligen Orten umsetzen lässt.

Darüber hinaus würdigte die Jury mit einer besonderen Erwähnung das Projekt „Device“ von Victoria Fernandez und Zaur Huseyn-Zada für seine Originalität, welches die hochaktuelle Frage der zunehmenden Bedeutung von Künstlicher Intelligenz in unserem Alltag aufgreift, sowie das Projekt Fermen-table von Hannah Lisa Ehre, Marlene Theresa Koßmann und Thilo Sebastian Preuß für seine sachliche Auseinandersetzung mit Ernährungs-, Gesundheits- und Umweltfragen für die Zukunft unserer Gesellschaften. Die Idee, fermentierte Lebensmittel, die mit einfachen Techniken produziert werden, mit der fortschrittlichen Technologie zu kombinieren, die für die Herstellung des eigens für dieses Projekt entworfenen Tisches notwendig ist, verankert das Projekt treffend in unsere Zeit.

Die Preisverleihung findet am Freitag, den 8. November 2024 auf dem AEDES Campus in Berlin in Anwesenheit der drei Gewinner*innen, der Jury und der Organisator*innen des Wettbewerbs statt. Zudem werden die 10 besten Projekte des Wettbewerbs ausgestellt, darunter die der Gewinner*innen und die beiden Projekte mit einer besonderen Erwähnung.

Gewinnerprojekte:

Fanti BAUM und Sebastian KLAWITER (München, DE), Harry’s Bude as Cuisine Commune, Cuisine Commune as Architektur
Yann MOTREFF (Paris, FR), Gastrobahn
Camille ROUAUD (Uchizy, FR), Soupes populaires

Projekte mit besonderer Erwähnung:

Zaur HUSEYN-ZADA und Victoria FERNANDEZ (Paris, FR), Device
Thilo Sebastian PREUß, Hannah Lisa EHRE und Marlene Theresa Koßman (Aachen, DE), Fermen-table

Die anderen fünf Projekte, die für die Ausstellung ausgewählt wurden (in alphabetischer Reihenfolge):

Thomas LAFFLY und Lou PERDREAU (Marseille, FR), Perennial
Luca PARISE (Berlin, DE), Lobster Kitchen
Lauren MARCHAND und Clémence LORTA (Champagne-au-Mont-d’Or, FR), Kitchens(s) in Town
Das Kollektiv Wurzelsieben mit Mirko HASELROTH, Helen-Maja RUDOLPH und Marcus SCHLICHT (München, DE), Three Kitchens
Ida STEFFEN, Manuel RADEMAKER, Jan SCHWARTZ und Marvin WINKENS (Berlin, DE), Berlin Cuisine

Pressemitteilung herunterladen

1ST PRICE EX AEQUO – HARRY’S BUDE AS CUISINE COMMUNE, CUISINE COMMUNE AS ARCHITECTURE

Harry’s Bude as Cuisine Commune, Cuisine Commune as Architecture – Fanti BAUM and Sebastian KLAWITER (Frankfurt/Munich, Germany)

The Stuttgart Cuisine Commune is literally founded with what falls from the sky, in multiple ways:

Firstly, there is Harry’s Bude, a temporary food-sharing station that provides people with food. Organizing this supply system is hard work, carried out by many. But for a brief moment, we want to say: Harry and his people provide food that falls from the sky.

Secondly, there is the porous stone that has broken off from the building and plunged to the ground, in front of which Harry’s precarious architecture has been installed: St. Mary’s Church. All these stones have succumbed to gravity and lost their cohesion, have been broken, shattered, fallen, crashed—

Thirdly, there are the unique glazed roof tiles, which are handcrafted and fired by a crafts-women in the south of Stuttgart, and almost nowhere else, and in French are named the same as a piece of cheese: La Brique.

This is the starting point of our idea of the Stuttgart Cuisine Commune; these three conceptual components: La Caillou + Le Ciel + La Brique.

The most important thing: to develop an architecture for Harry’s Bude that integrates into this place, embeds into the walls, connects with the stones, in such a way that nothing could call it into question. At the same time, creating the possibility not only to distribute food but also to have enough space, storage, cooling, and action space to run a Cuisine Commune and cooking together once a week. It is the dream of a generous, open, and pragmatic place.

The stones remind us of Walter Benjamin’s concept of porosity, which we want to apply to the situation of Harry’s temporary booth and the church as an institution. The design “Harry’s Bude as Cuisine Commune – Cuisine Commune as Architecture” aims to make the church building permeable, accessible, open, and receptive to its immediate surroundings: Harry’s Bude and the Österreichischen Platz. It’s about incorporating moments of porosity into solid structures and thinking of architecture as an intervening practice: a gesture of opening, sharing, simultaneity, and assembly. Precisely because something is manifested in our design, it remains crucial not to lose sight of what characterizes the booth and Benjamin’s concept: “one avoids the stamped, no situation appears as it is, thought of forever, no form asserts its ‘this way and no other.’ Because nothing is finalized and completed.”

The Stuttgart Cuisine Commune creates permeability for various action spaces, thinking of the kitchen as an open space and workshop, where co-productive processes create a lively place. This means, in practice – where, with Stefano Harney and Fred Moten, “the planners are still part of the plan” – “inventing the means in a joint experiment, that in every kitchen […], in every corridor, on every park bench […], launches the coming of life forms […].” That is the dream: to test communal action – as a kitchen – at this place.

Fanti Baum & Sebastian Klawiter work at the intersection of architecture, art and public space. They realize site-specific architectures, installations, performances and collective processes. In 2020/2021 they were artistic fellows at the Akademie Schloss Solitude. In addition, they have been teaching architecture, urban planning, stage design and performance in theory and practice at various art colleges since 2015. In 2022, they won the City of Munich’s prize for art in public spaces.

1ST PRICE EX AEQUO – SOUPES POPULAIRES

Soupes Populaires – Camille Rouaud (Uchizy, France)

This story began when a friend called me in February to tell me that my car burnt. I would later learn that an arsonist under the influence of hard drugs and convinced that he was chasing demons had set fire to twelve vehicles that night. For the romantic part, I shared that car with my ex, its charred carcass plays the embodiment of our love that went up in smoke…

Street food pre-existed the recent invention of the domestic kitchen, born from the development of modern confort and nuclear family households. In many places it is still part of the modus vivendi. Found in Thailand or Japan, street food possess an undeniable charm for the eyes of Europeans living in policed urban spaces. In Europe, however, it often covers up other realities, such as soup kitchens and food distribution by the Restos du Coeur.

Despite 45,000 asylum applications in 2023, the only response Europe is able to offer these new populations in need are detention camps in the shape of open-air prisons, preferably out of sight, off urban centres. The homeless, forced by their extremely precarious situation, have learnt to read the city through experience and are a little more aware of the resources available to them. But what about new arrivals? How do they survive in a space they can’t decipher?

The prohibitions of the ecological transition have left at our disposal a large number of vehicles which have been banned from the metropolises. New LPG technologies allow us to convert any of them into a hybrid vehicle, and the beauty of LPG is that you can also cook with it. Combined with LED panels working on 12V systems, we have a fleet of vehicles operating in very localised fields of action, serving as popular kitchens on every street corner.

It appears though that Brazil, where car-boot kitchens called porta-mallas are a common thing offering chùrros and hot-dogs to the night stroller, is largely ahead of us here. Only the idea here is to put the coupé, a symbol of consumerism and individualism, at the heart of social action and of an idea of a cityscape outside of commercial use.

Soupes Populaires imagines the soup kitchen as a Bangkok Night Market with a cyberpunk twist. The Audi A3 1996-2000 series sportback 1.9 TDI in metallic grey with aluminium rims could act as a swipe of lipstick to strip this symbol of extreme poverty of its pauperising image. You too come have a bowl of soup from the boot of a luxury car, refugees welcome, hospitality as not (completely) deserted these lands.

Soups are found in every kitchen. If some of them, like the french bouillabaisse, have become delicacies of choice they yet remain the archetypal popular meal. Warm or cold, blended or chunky, with fresh herbs or dry spices, vegetarian or omnivorous they are suitable for everyone.

Camille Rouaud is an architect based in Athens working across the fields of architecture, design, anthropology and visual arts. He is the co-founder of GRAMMA office, a research based project on the architectural grammar of the city of Athens and the current shedding of its inner skin.

1ST PRICE EX AEQUO – GASTROBAHN

Gastrobahn – Yann MOTREFF (Paris, France)

8,5 million

It’s the number of people suffering from food insecurity in Germany and France (FFBA and WBAE figures for 2022). This alarming figure shows that, while eating is a source of pleasure for many of us, it is above all a vital necessity for far too many. These figures, which have risen exponentially over the last ten years, are a symbol of the increasingly precarious situation in Europe and around the world.

1 760 km

That’s the length of dining tables needed to provide a decent meal for people in food insecurity. Joined together, these dining tables link the German Landkreis Vorpommern-Rügen to the French Pays Basque.

Gastrobahn

Gastrobahn is a large-scale project designed to source, cook and serve the meals needed by the 8.5 million Germans and French people suffering from food insecurity . Gastrobahn crosses German and French regions with very different social, geological and meteorological characteristics. This concrete structure is divided into 4 parts:

The stilts, which minimise the impact on the environments through which Gastrobahn passes and make it adaptable to all types of geography.
The central preparation and tasting area, 1,760 km long. An enclosed, covered area dotted with shared kitchen islands. All along the 1,760 km, second-hand tables from flea markets are set out to serve food.
The flexible, modular balconies allow the central space to be enlarged at will, opening it up to the outside world. The self-installation of these scaffold-like structures makes it possible to gather, prepare, taste and digest a good meal in the open air on Gastrobahn.
The roof, a veritable bicycle highway, allows local food products to circulate, encouraging responsible sourcing and promoting short circuits. Capable structure that can be adapted to suit different situations, Gastrobahn is a response to the food insecurity crisis in Germany and France, but it is also an organisation that promotes the local areas and the relationship between the two countries. Self-sufficient in energy thanks to low-tech water recovery systems, domestic wind turbines, ovens and solar panels, Gastrobahn generates its own energy for preparing and cooking meals. Gastrobahn is a convivial place where everyone can enjoy a meal together, creating social links and defending one of the fundamental values of cooking: sharing.

2 000 €

This is the amount that will be donated to Restos du Coeur and Tafel if Gastrobahn is one of the 3 winning projects.

After nearly 10 years’ experience in housing design and construction supervision in France, Yann Motreff is now working to develop an alternative to the speculative model of city-building, proposing acclimatized architecture that is committed to the inhabitant and their living space. He is the author of the Instagram account CTRL+V, a counterpoint to the nonsense of photogenic and influenced architecture, and manages the programming of the Béton Le Havre festival.

SPECIAL MENTIONS – DEVICE

Device – Zaur HUSEYN-ZADA and Victoria FERNANDEZ (Paris, France)

Since the dawn of humanity, the kitchen has always been more than just a place to prepare meals. It was a social gathering space, where people came together around a fire, sharing stories and warmth while preparing their food. This primitive kitchen was a community hub, strengthening social bonds through shared experiences. Over time, the kitchen became a separate room in homes, equipped with the necessary tools and appliances for efficient meal preparation. However, this evolution often led to a separation between the social and culinary aspects of the kitchen.

Modern open kitchen designs attempt to bridge this gap by integrating the kitchen into living spaces, reflecting our innate desire to gather. In a post-COVID era, it is more important than ever to rethink our living spaces to promote conviviality and well-being. We propose moving to a new stage with a fully autonomous kitchen integrated into a living space.

This concept is based on an intelligent monolithic block (named “Device”), driven by AI, which optimizes space and manages stocks, budgets, and time. The integrated AI monitors inventory, suggests recipes based on available ingredients, and plans purchases to stay within budget, thereby reducing food waste.

The Device also acts as a culinary assistant, offering detailed cooking instructions, tips, and techniques suitable for all skill levels. For those who lack time or skills, it can even take over the cooking, ensuring meals with minimal effort.

After meals, it automates cleaning through its integrated systems, allowing users to relax and enjoy their time at the table. Additionally, it serves as a communication hub, enabling users to stay connected, manage appointments, and access useful information directly from the block.

By freeing up the space typically occupied by a large traditional kitchen, this solution allows for the integration of an autonomous object that recedes into the background of our daily lives.Reinvesting in living spaces such as the living room and dining room restores these areas to their roles as places of relaxation and conviviality.

Zaur Huseyn-zada, originally from Baku, Azerbaijan, and Victoria Fernandez, born in Paris, are both Paris-based designers with complementary backgrounds. Zaur holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Architecture and Construction University of Azerbaijan and a Master’s from the National Architecture School of Lyon (ENSAL). Victoria studied spatial design at École Boulle and earned a Master’s in interior architecture at ESAM. Together, they bring diverse experiences and a shared passion for innovative, thoughtful design.

SPECIAL MENTIONS – FERMEN-TABLE

Fermen-table – Hannah Lisa EHRE and Marlene Theresa KOßMANN (Aachen, Germany)

(to) ferment
(to) be able
ferment-able (adj.)

fermentation
table
fermen-table (noun)

A dream kitchen
Our interpretation of a dream kitchen is an experimental space requiring minimal resources and bringing us closer to the playful nature of food preservation methods like fermentation. With the “Fermen-t-able” we want to emphasize the joy of preparing food, eating together and talking about it; sharing recipes, ingredients, techniques.

What is fermentation?
Fermentation is an ancient culinary practice passed down through generations worldwide, enhancing nutritions and incredible flavors of (surplus) food. Many countries have their traditional ferments, such as bread, yogurt, cheese, sauerkraut, and wine; garum from Rome; kimchi from Korea; and rakfisk from Norway. These delicacies originated from the need to preserve food without refrigeration. Today, food preparation typically relies on heat, which depletes nutrients and flavor, consumes resources, and still contributes to waste. One third of the world’s food production is discarded annually. Our current food system, based on excessive consumer behavior, is exploiting our soils. Let’s use what we produce, relearn traditional food practices like fermentation and raise awareness of the products that we consume!

Let’s bring it to the Fermen-t-able
The Fermen-t-able is not an ordinary culinary setup; it is both a fermenting kitchen as well as a shared dining table that brings a colorful variety of dishes and ferments to the center at the end of the day. It fosters a collective, hands-on experience, bringing people closer to the products they consume.
The proposal, designed as a freestanding object needs only an access to cold water and can be placed anywhere – whether in the parking lot behind the nearest supermarket, on a neighborhood market square, or as the centerpiece of a
community kitchen in a residential building.
Within the table there come specific attachment tools that can be stored in a mobile unit, allowing it to function as a fermentation kitchen, a dining table, or both. Beside graters, plates, cutlery and bowls, there is a specific scale that shows the right ratio of salt compared to the product (2%). The processed products can be put into a destined fermentation chamber. Additionally, the wastewater from the sink can be collected in a movable barrel and further used to water plants.
Crafted from a single mold, epoxy or synthetic resin is used, which is extremely durable, impact- and scratch-resistant, and long-lasting – ideal for kitchen surfaces in public spaces. Moreover, the material is easy to maintain, weatherproof, and heat-resistant.

In today’s fast-paced world, people spend less time in the kitchen, cook less, and continuously seek to optimize time and culinary practices. This relentless pursuit of efficiency contrasts with the slow, deliberate practice of fermentation. As architects, we are also subject to efficiency mechanisms.
Therefore, we experiment playfully with the design and drawings of the Fermen-table as a sustainable, future-ready response to an unchanging food policy and practice, despite ongoing discussions. The Fermen-t-able serves as a readable guide. It is created to leave no questions unanswered and provide space for experimentation.

Hannah Lisa Ehre and Marlene Theresa Kossmann are two friends connected through design and culinary delights. Besides studying and working in the field of architecture, they recently started to run a transnational catering studio that operates at the interface between art, scenography, cooking and food. Their motto is: Playing with food is allowed! There is only one condition: in the end, everything has to be consumed.

SELECTED PROJECT – PERENNIAL

Perennial – Thomas Laffly and Lou Perdreau (Marseille, France)

Our dream kitchen is a primitive, primary kitchen. In the collective imagination, the mental image of the kitchen is one of furniture and appliances agglomerated within a fixed, relatively standardized architecture: a kitchen is nothing without its habitat, its adjacent rooms, a floor, surrounding walls, a hood, a curtain, a window, wiring, etc. Our kitchen is first and foremost stripped of the context imposed on it by industrialization.

Our kitchen is first and foremost freed from the context imposed on it by industrialization; it is not attached to anything except the natural elements that will be adjacent to it. Whether it’s a meal, a banquet, a dinner party or a celebration, whether the event is intimate or collective, it will revolve around a stone, reminiscent of the domestication of fire and the very origin of the principle of a meal. This kitchen is therefore a sculptural island invited by its environment, adapting to it and not creating conviviality according to the classic model, but rather participating in the sublimation of a natural environment that is already welcoming. It fits into the landscape and invites us to contemplate it, to taste its flavours.

Drawing its resources from the natural environment in which it is embedded, the island operates via primary devices: the shade structure provides shade and a place to hang tools, while the stone provides a place to work, store food and rest one’s elbows.

The physical properties of the elements are exploited without any residue: the massiveness of the stone enables cool storage and easy washing of worktops, the energy of the wind supplies the island with electricity, that of the sun for the hot water tank, and the nearby environment for the harvesting of perennials and herbs. The island is a neutral starting point onto which additional technologies or tables can be grafted if required. The idea remains that of a moment of sharing in keeping with the techniques and products used: a sober, convivial kitchen.

Lou and Thomas, a French duo based between Marseille, Grenoble, and Besançon, integrate architecture with visual arts. Their architectural practice is enriched by painting, sculpture, design, and photography, deepening their reflections and graphic representations of architecture. Passionate about exploring French territories, they investigate spatial arrangements, the lives of local residents, and, above all, the art of gastronomy. Their works question space and conviviality at the heart of the human experience.

SELECTED PROJECT – LOBSTER KITCHEN

Lobster Kitchen – Parise Luca (Berlin, Germany)

What is a “Dream Kitchen”?

In the world we live in, it’s almost natural to let our imagination take us into the future when pondering this question, envisioning a high-tech, immersive kitchen brimming with “smart” technology, connected to the much-discussed “internet of things.”

However, this futuristic vision of a kitchen is far from truly representing a “Dream Kitchen.” These futuristic spaces are often inaccessible, exclusive (due to high cost), and creators of new demands, creating the impression that the present is distant from this ideal, distancing us from our “dream,” and from ourselves.

I firmly believe that the true “Dream Kitchen” already exists here and now. Its materialization doesn’t necessarily involve bringing new elements or technologies to the table (after all, we’ve been cooking for over 40,000 years). Instead, it depends largely on our ability to let go of this notion of a “Dream Kitchen” that doesn’t exist and strive to make it exist with what we have.

This isn’t just a plastic strategy but also a social one, aiming to break out of a consumption loop and constantly seeking something unattainable, bringing us closer to a more sustainable vision of the future. In short, it involves letting go of the idea of a “dream kitchen.”

But what exactly does it mean to let go of this conception of a “Dream Kitchen”?

In my view, it means abandoning a static (or even sacralized) view of the kitchen and questioning what we understand as a kitchen and how it should function. Why does the stove have to be here? Why does it have to be at this height? Why does the fridge open on this side? Why in one room of the house?

Of course, we have functional answers to these questions, but if we create space for a poetic vision of uses, we open up endless possibilities that lead us to more interesting, fun, and potential-filled places. With this spirit in mind, the idea of the lobster kitchen emerges. Built entirely with common elements of a cheap kitchen – a simple refrigerator, a four-burner gas stove, an old cupboard, and a sink – it refuses to follow the “expected layout.”

The “lobster kitchen” is my attempt to create a dream kitchen, here, now, with what I have. It teaches me that by simply rearranging objects and refusing to use them as they were designed, value is created. Aesthetic value, social value, financial value – clearly, this kitchen has more value than the sum of its individual parts, which is the most powerful testimony, as an artist, I believe I can offer: to use aesthetics to create alternatives for our world – after all, isn’t that what a painter does when combining pigment, oil, and canvas to create fiction (a dream)? This is the kitchen of my dreams, and it is in the realm of the possible.

Luca is part of the AVENTURA group (aventura.cargo.site), which explores building and urbanism from an aesthetic perspective. Since 2011, Luca has founded projects that bridge art and architecture, received awards, and exhibited both individually and collectively in Brazil and internationally, as well as being featured in different publications.

SELECTED PROJECT – KITCHEN(S) IN TOWN

KITCHEN(S) IN TOWN – market unsold stock as an opportunity – Lauren Marchand and Clémence Lorta (Champagne-au-Mont-d’Or, France).

Every summer morning, at dawn, my brother and I would go through the ritual of carefully removing the skins from the juice peaches, which our mother would brown in sugar and a knob of butter. On our favourite July treats, she would sometimes pour the leftover verbena infused the previous evening. When we were older, we used the leftovers from our beers to make a doughnut dough that we mixed with a few flowers from the garden. My favourites were the lilac flower fritters in April. All year round, from orange, clementine and lemon peel for rice pudding to pasta cooking water for thickening sauces, we cooked with rubbish, detritus, surplus and waste, which fed us hungrily for several more meals. The pleasure of eating was superimposed on the pleasure of the table, where everyone came to discover the value of things they didn’t know they had.

The aim of this work is to reverse the relationship between cooking and waste, and to think of architecture as a way of «sublimating the repulsive». Based on the observation that a third of food in the market place is neither sold nor eaten, and is even thrown away, the architecture is grafted onto the markets, the first places to influence the political organisation of cities. This project is a way of recovering unsold food, rubbish and surplus on the spot, and turning it into an experiment in collective awareness through the shared practice of cooking.

Like the structure of the market, which folds and unfolds, the architecture of the kitchen shrinks, grows and adapts according to the amount of waste recovered, creating a scenographic and educational dimension to the act of cooking with waste. It’s a system that unfolds in the city in a totemic way. Like a newsagent or a fountain, our architecture tends to become a visual and identifiable element in the city. The market is no longer an ephemeral space; the grafting of the kitchen redefines the temporality of the market. Our kitchen is a set of levels that perform several functions: sorting, cleaning, cooking, eating and washing. The plan is built around a system, which is put in place by a need for highly predictable equipment (storage, sorting, cleaning, cooling, etc.). The access, goods lifts, storage areas, water container and compost areas are positioned on the façade, in a double skin, to showcase the resources from the street.

Inside, the layout features three elements: the tank, the fireplace and the table, which are arranged around a skylight that provides ventilation. The structure frees the entire floor plan from walls, creating programmatic freedom and fluidity of use. The change in size of the standard kitchen furniture becomes a tool for rediscovering the pleasure of cooking, giving them a monumental dimension.

This permanent architecture, which can be adjusted according to the amount of unsold food collected, is a way of showcasing food waste while (re)discovering the pleasure of cooking in a kitchen.

Lauren Marchand and Clémence Lorta are both graduates of the ENSA Paris-Malaquais. Passionate about patrimonial architecture and renovation, Clémence is currently working as a project manager in an agency that combines architecture and environmental engineering. Passionate about crafts, Lauren works as a designer for Dorothée Meilichzon, where she creates bespoke decors and furniture for restaurants and boutiques. She is also involved in the artistic direction of the biennial Amour Vivant.

SELECTED PROJECT – THREE KITCHENS

Three Kitchens – collective Wurzelsieben (Mirko HASELROTH, Helen-Maja RUDOLPH and Marcus SCHLICHT), (Munich, Germany)

Remarkable: Only humans have dared to play with fire. For centuries, we sat together around the fire, warmed our hands on cold nights, and began roasting, baking, and cooking. During these nights, we had endless conversations, and the hearth became the focal point of life. But where has the hearth disappeared to in recent years?

Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky perhaps initiated a change— in the “Frankfurter Küche” the hearth disappeared from social life, was pushed into the corner, and withered away into a rationalized workspace for the housewife. Conversations fell silent.

Kitchen 1:
The kitchen of the future wants to return to humanity‘s first game with fire—what is more beautiful than eating under the open sky and hearing the crackling of the fire?

Kitchen 2:
In the apartments you will not find a classical kitchen. Only a few opportunities to warm up tea or coffee as a protest against traditional gender roles, bourgeoisie, and narrow-mindedness, as primarily meals are cooked and eaten collectively in the community kitchens. What remains of the classical kitchen is a provisional manifestation.

Kitchen 3:
The third kitchen is situated on the ground floor as a living room of the city. Inspired by the „comedores populares,“ a type of community canteen widespread in many Latin American countries, especially in Peru. Those who have the time and the passion to cook for others can do so for the entire neighbourhood.

The kitchens of our dreams can only be social kitchens.

Wurzelsieben (√7) is an architecture firm based in Munich, led by Helen-Maja Rudolph, Marcus Schlicht, and Mirko Haselroth. The team studied architecture in Weimar, Munich, and Lausanne. They established their own practice following their success in the cooperative housing competition “Freimundo”, which they won together with menu surprise in 2023.