Microbial HomeWhat will the kitchen of the future be like? Polished and shiny and ultra-sanitized? Rustic and rough-textured and natural? And exactly how do you define "natural"?
For Philips, "natural" is about as down-to-earth-and-rolling-in-the dirt as you can get: Bacteria form the core of the kitchen in its conceptual Microbial Home ecosystem. In this design vision, the bacteria would munch on food and toilet waste, and the resulting methane gas would power the range and the lighting. Fungi also get into the action: Plastic packaging would be ground down and mixed with a fungus that decomposes it -- and also produces edible mushrooms.
The Netherlands-based multinational corporation focuses on technological and design innovations, and its "Design Probes" track "far-future" trends that may eventually have business applications.
A story from across the pond draws a contrast between the shiny, streamlined modernist kitchens of luxury kitchen brand
and Philips' microbial concept, posing the question, "... what if everything modernism taught us about the kitchen is wrong? What if bacteria and manual labour are the future of the kitchen?"
Find the
It delves into kitchen history and includes this fine George Orwell quote:
"Every time I wash up a batch of crockery I marvel at the unimaginativeness of human beings who can travel under the sea and fly through the clouds, and yet have not known how to eliminate this sordid time-wasting drudgery from their daily lives." Too right.
For more on the Microbial Home,
Also, Core77.com has a good description, with photos. Go here for
, and
Then, if you feel inspired, share your opinion by taking our poll.
--