Ed Calma turns kitchens into design showcase

August 19, 2010

In the past 20 years, architects and designers have been acknowledging the expanding role of the kitchen.

 

“It utilized to become hidden in the back again,” notes architect Jose Eduardo Calma. “As multi-functional room, it is turn out to be as important because the living space.”

 

Cara Marcelo, senior principal designer for Focus Global Inc., distributor of luxury home appliances, adds, “With the popularity of cooking shows, people desired to become chefs. The kitchen has become the center from the house along with a showcase. It is also a place exactly where you not only entertain while cooking but also where children can study.”

 

Clearly, food may be the center of family life.

 

With this trend in mind, Sub-Zero and Wolf, high-end American appliance brands, have been holding a biennial kitchen area design contest. The entry should integrate at least one full-size Sub-Zero refrigerator and Wolf cooking appliance in the design. The jury is composed of prominent architects and designers.

Ever since the Sub-Zero and Wolf Kitchen Design Contest was open to foreign contestants in 2004, the Philippines has been winning successively. Calma’s personal kitchen area won two prizes in the recent 2008-2009 tilt in the International Category Award, besting all entries from various continents, and the First Location in Contemporary Kitchen area, for that US national contest.

 

Earlier, his client’s kitchen area, that is bigger than a regular condo unit, won in the International Catagory (2006-2007.) Marcelo won the exact same category in 2004-2005 for kitchen renovation.

 

The judges looked at innovation, practicality and aesthetics.

Style continuity

 

Marcelo’s clients, operators of the big food chain, desired to make their kitchen into a hub. Walls were knocked down to expand the space to 45 sq meters and larger windows were incorporated to reveal garden views.

 

The interior designer recalls, “During the awarding ceremonies, there was an open forum. They (the judges) gave the award because of the continuity in the design. We utilized elements of the Sub-Zero design which were echoed in the window grills. The style from the Sub-Zero vents in their stainless-steel freezer and glass door refrigerator were reflected about the top of the windows,” explains Marcelo.

 

“Everything was linear and monochromatic. There were no wall cabinets and classic shelves which usually fill the kitchen. The base cabinets and tall cabinets were built in. It became an inside-outside space as the (views from) kitchen windows became the focal point.”

 

The highly polished surfaces for example granite countertop contrasted the roughness of the Italian tile flooring. Mosaic tiles added texture to the back again splash.

 

“Everything was in cashmere, in the walls, ceiling to cabinets. The black granite countertop gave it an element of surprise,” claims Marcelo.

 

The owners favored the professional range, microwave and warming drawer from Wolf, the brand in their restaurant kitchens.

 

The flow of space was seamless. No longer located in the back again of the house, the kitchen intersected the residing and dining places to permit the individuals to watch the cooking. It was divided into preparation, dining and service areas.

 

“As you enter, there’s a breakfast nook along with a large island where buddies can gather,” claims Marcelo. The cooking area, constructed against the wall, was adjacent to the dirty kitchen and the refrigerator. The Sub-Zero 424 wine storage was logically placed in the center island, the entertainment region. The coffee maker and microwave were in the end from the island. “We decentralized the activities within the kitchen area to maximize the use of room.”

 

Cerebral

A proponent of spare design, Calma may be winning for his crisp, streamlined and intelligently created kitchens.

 

The judicious use of space, the four-meter high ceiling, the cross ventilation and the striking Mondrian design from the windows, which brought in a lot of organic light, caught the judges’ attention in Calma’s initial entry. Owned through the head of the conglomerate, the L-shaped, 60 sq-meter kitchen, serves as cooking, dining as well as office area.

 

“The kitchen area is divided into two zones—for the family’s breakfast corner and the cooking that is a larger set-up. These spaces overlap. The kitchen area can serve a big crowd however it can also be utilized on a smaller scale,” explains Calma.

 

Simple movement flow was vital within the kitchen area design. “There’s a hub where the preparation occurs. The functional side utilized by the maids is beside the pizza oven and grill region. The utilities (and appliances) are on the periphery. There is one area for the study for that recipes (which include hidden computer stations), the breakfast nook may be the much less busier area. It’s a multi-use kitchen there are spaces for the desk, LCD TV at the breakfast bar,” he adds.

 

The home appliances really define the zone. The stainless-steel counter is adjacent to the Wolf home appliances, ranging from the grills to double ovens.

 

About the opposite side of this preparation area are three Sub-Zero units whose massiveness make a stately wall.

 

Calma got a plus for that higher ceiling which provides organic air circulation. The finishes are luxurious—stainless-steel counters that echo the metallic home appliances, wenge wood cabinets and ceramic tile and travertine flooring.

 

Integration

 

Last year, Calma won again for originality in his personal kitchen area.

 

“The judges found the kitchen area daring enough to be in the residing and dining space instead of being concealed, and for that connection from the architecture using the bar,” claims the architect who is also a foodie.

 

“It’s just a small kitchen,” describes Calma modestly on his home. “It’s correct in the middle. As you enter the room, you see it immediately.”

 

A trademark of Calma’s style is to produce ceilings that have a continuous line. They suddenly deviate to the wall, then bend to a bar and swerve again to link with the floor.

“From the front, it looks like a display table. It is constructed up with steel and wengge,” he explains.

 

Calma’s continuous frame concealed the air conditioning, exhaust ducting and audio speakers in the ceiling bulkhead.

 

“Hiding these components created ceiling details which made the frame an fascinating structural element,” he claims.

One from the style functions of Sub-Zero is that it seamlessly integrates to the architecture. His unit blends with the storage pantry cabinets which he designed.

 

The graphite cabinet doors are striking for their geometry. He customized his stainless sink which not only washes big pans but may also double as buffet counter and cutting board when concealed having a matching stainless-steel plate.

 

“People do not sit within the living room and dining space. They love to congregate here. In the contest, this was the only kitchen integrated using the architecture,” says Calma.

 

Source: Inquirer - Lifestyle Section