Minimalism, Elegance Mark Three Award-Winning Kitchens

MADISON, WI —
The setting: The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL. The reason: selecting the national winners in the 2004/05 Sub-Zero/Wolf Kitchen Design Contest, the seventh since its inception in 1993. The result: Three kitchens awarded top honors in the category of best kitchen for their overall creativity and style, plus their use of appliances.

The kitchens ran the gamut from a Zen-like kitchen that blends with nature and a semi-pro kitchen fit for families and philanthropy, to a “peek-a-boo” kitchen concept that gives the owners a choice as to whether to conceal it or open it to the adjacent great room.

They were hand-picked from a group of 48 regional winners, which were narrowed down from a field of more than 1,000 entries from kitchen designers, architects, interior designers and builders around the world.

“It was a great contest, and our judges had a difficult time in the selection of these beautiful design-winning entries,” says Jim Bakke, president/CEO for Sub-Zero/Wolf, which is based here.

Each entry utilized a full-size Sub-Zero built-in 600 Series or integrated 700 Series unit and Wolf cooking instrument. And, along with innovative and brilliant kitchen design, each one was judged on the aesthetic and functional use of the space and the functional placement of the Sub-Zero/Wolf appliances, according to contest organizers.

They were carefully reviewed by a panel of seven independent judges in the industry: MaryJo Camp, CKD, CBD, CID and v.p./marketing of Standards of Excellence (formerly McPhails Appliance) in San Francisco, CA; Mick De Giulio of de Giulio kitchen design, inc. in Chicago, IL; Jamie Drake, ASID, of Drake Design Associates in New York, NY; Wendy Mendes, AIA, ASID, IIDA and v.p. of RTKL Associates in Coral Gables, FL; Matthew Quinn designer and partner of Design Galleria Kitchen and Bath Studio in Atlanta, GA; Robert Schwartz, principal of St. Charles of New York (NY); and Patti Weaver, CKD, of Creative Design Solutions in Longmont, CO.

Here and on the next two pages, KBDN spotlights the designs of the three national winners.

Cozy Kitchen
Walking the line between a professional kitchen and a warm, inviting family space, this oversized, yet still cozy kitchen took first place, garnering its creators the $20,000 grand prize.

Michael Neumann, AIA, of Michael Neumann Architecture LLC in New York, NY, was challenged with this project, designed for a philanthropic couple with children on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The goal was to turn the small, existing kitchen and existing maid’s quarters in the apartment into a centerpiece semi-professional kitchen.

The new design accommodates 50 guests and staff, and provides a welcoming atmosphere in which the family and staff can eat and work. The space also includes a small office and a powder room featuring a Jado faucet and a Kohler Co. toilet.

To bring this dual kitchen concept in what he feels is a very “Gosford Park” vein to life, Neumann worked with Jairo Camelo, project manager, and Daniel Gillen, designer. Both are with his New York, NY-based architectural firm. Silver Lining Interiors, also based in New York, NY, served as the contractor.

The judges were impressed with the design, noting that Neumann’s design was decisive.

“The judges felt that there were no ‘ifs’ about it,” shares Neumann.

Given the frequency of their charitable entertaining, the clients not only needed “a welcoming place where family and staff could gather, work and eat, but also an efficient, durable, semi-professional kitchen to prepare food and store full table service for 50 dinner guests – plus an assistant’s office that could partition off for privacy,” he explains.

To meet the challenge, all walls were demolished to produce a single unified space centered on a 9' island with an adjacent stainless steel appliance wall.

Neumann and his team installed two 601R refrigerators and a 601F freezer from Sub-Zero and a 48" range, 30" wall oven, microwave and 54" exhaust hood from Wolf. The hood was concealed by stainless steel cabinets.