The new "rock" is a joint design by Martin Steininger and Alberto Minotti. This cooperation with Minotti is the first time that Steininger has brought an external designer on board: another step on the way to internationalisation for the expanding design company from Upper Austria. Managing Director and Designer Martin Steininger: "In Alberto Minotti we have found a partner who perfectly masters the design signature of minimalism. After the concrete kitchen, with "rock" we are about to launch a kitchen which will complement and strengthen our presence on international kitchen markets. "rock" has had its international première at Eurocucina in Milan in April."
Homage to Donald Judd and Adolf Loos The new kitchen can be presented either monolithic and forceful as an island kitchen or, unusually, as a stand-alone of 4 kitchen blocks – based on the Master of Minimalism, Donald Judd, who grouped cubes and cuboids in his work to explore the interaction between open and closed spaces. Alberto Minotti: "rock is a homage to Donald Judd and Adolf Loos. Reduced in form, colour and material. We wanted to create a kitchen of absolute beauty, without an "expiry date", timeless and forever. An intelligent kitchen, because it is mobile, which fits in with many different lifestyles due to its minimalism and simplicity." In its most radical form, the 4 kitchen cubes are placed next to each other just a few centimetres apart, like an installation in the room, based on the work of art "100 Works in Mill Aluminium" by Judd. Nevertheless, behind its wafer-thin stone panels "rock" has all of the functions of a modern kitchen.
Italian Design and Austrian Quality Craftsmanship For Steininger and Minotti the central issue if the quality of the workmanship: The new "rock" kitchen is the ideal combination of Italian design and Austrian craftsmanship, 100% manufactured in St. Martin, Upper Austria. Alongside the quality of the design and the material, it is quality of this craftsmanship that characterises the timeless beauty of "rock". Many details bear witness to the love of quality: Because of the new method of construction using aluminium sections, the stone is worked in sheets that are just 6 mm thick – in the 2010 stone kitchen, they were still 8 mm thick. All edges are bevelled, a process that is particularly complex and difficult in stone. Martin Steininger: "That is a very important detail for us because it not only proves our expert craftsmanship, but also because the shape of the kitchen then looks as though it has come from one block."
Monolithic and from a Mono Material For the first time in a Steininger kitchen there is also a tall cupboard made of stone, which greatly characterises the real materials and uniform appearance of the kitchen. The 2.45 m tall sliding doors each weigh 30 kg, which is also a technical challenge ensuring easy handling in everyday use.
How will we live in the future? This also always means: How will we cook in the future? The team around Martin Steininger has been concerned with this question for many years now. And regularly comes up with new answers: Starting with the concept of the tall cupboard, which houses all functions and appliances and, when closed, conveys an image of clarity and tidiness, moving on to the use of new materials, such as concrete, right up to the model kitchen which no longer satisfies any formal requirements and, instead, offers more personal scope. The kitchen is freeing itself from formal norms, there are no longer any taboos for personal expression – this applies as much to designers as customers and, in particular, to the 4 kitchen block of the new "rock" kitchen from Steininger.
