EXPORTING THE EUROPEAN AND ITALIAN WAY OF LIFE - PATRICIA VIEL

What do you appreciate about an Arclinea kitchen, and what is its added value?
The Arclinea system is actually not only a system, it's a project. The capability of the system to be very flexible and adaptable to different situation is not reducing the presence of the brand and the identity of the final result. This is not a detail because the fact that we introduce a branded product as a kitchen by Arclinea in our architectural design in Italy, but also abroad, is perceived as an element of quality. The fact that you can recognize the distinctive element of the product is absolutely needed, but also, we need to have the possibility to design the space together with the system.

Variety and flexibility are the characteristics of the Arclinea Collection. How do they fit into the projects of the ACPV ARCHITECTS? Can it be said that these two elements are where the values of the studio meet those of Arclinea?
The Arclinea system has been designed by Antonio Citterio with an architectural environment in mind. That means that the different elements and different character of the different family and collections, will always serve to define a sequence of action in the kitchen. It's not only something that is defined by the materials or the details of the handle or the size and the modularity of the doors. It is about how you build the relationship in between a cooking table and a working counter. Somehow this is always consistent through the different families with the special component of spaces in the space, which is very peculiar for Arclinea system. We always has been capable to create very efficient space within the kitchen far beyond the modularity of the system. Of course, with the cabinets that can enclosure, get the enclosure for a wet kitchen, keeping the island outside, creating a separation between the show kitchen versus the working kitchen. And this is something that coming from an Italian brand where the Italian tradition for cooking is different country by country, we will add something to this kind of habits, which is very special.

ACPV ARCHITECTS is based in Italy but works on international projects. Is there any element of Italian or European design that is always present in your projects?
We actually are exporting what we call the European and Italian way of life in all our projects for sure. Meaning that the capability of the kitchen to be the core of the conviviality for the residential unit is very much part of our way of life. And the aesthetical investment that we always put in designing the kitchen and the direct relationship with the living space and the quality of the natural light, the prominent experience that we offer with the Arclinea kitchens is part of this assumption. But, again, we need always to somehow study and understand the expectation and the needs for the local cultures, and, of course, the relationship with food and being together is always very specific for different cultures.
But what we always find is the open mind that in those country will be welcoming to our traditions and our sense of beauty. This has always worked very well, but we need to be capable to redesign the space and to be adaptive to what are the needs, the local needs and the local sense of how the kitchen can be organized and in which way the relationship with food and people is expected.

Tell us about the 1428 Brickell project in Miami and why Arclinea was chosen. What support does Arclinea provide at a design level?
We actually propose Arclinea kitchens, that are designed by Antonio Citterio in all our projects. The project has been selected because the design that we have been capable to provide, very open to the living area, was very well accepted in Miami, and the perception of the brand is very high. The project for 1428 Brickell will be the new level for luxury residential units. The collection of the brands that we have been proposing for the project was a key element. Arclinea is for sure corresponding to the highest level of quality for this kind of manufactured product but also we need the capability of the company to provide a good number of kitchen for this project, together with services to for the installation and quality control, at the end. In order to achieve this, since the design of the kitchens has been very much customized for the different units, we have been working for months with the technical services by Arclinea in order to resolve technical problems, to adapt the product to the USA norms and requirements, but also to, somehow, convince the final customers of the perfect utilization of the kitchen that is somehow very special because we not we don't have hanging cabinets, which is somehow for the American public very, very unusual. The kitchen has been composed by a toll unit and only counters with a beautiful island in a fully glazed environment open to the living with a very nice wall facing the sea. It will be very, very spectacular. And this has been for sure one of the successful element of this project.