Can technology become poetic and rarefied? The answer is “yes” if we look at the installation Gaggenau created for the Fuorisalone. The German brand has reaffirmed its presence in the splendid setting of Villa Necchi Campiglio, where it created an installation that speaks of rhythm, proportion, light, and material, transforming its luxury professional-grade appliances into objects with a strong sensory dimension, naturally integrated into their context.
With the project Presence, Gaggenau continues an exhibition path that began in 2022, which -beyond showcasing new products – aims to create an immersive experience of its philosophy, combining essential minimalism, a sense of proportion, an architectural approach, and a fusion of craftsmanship and engineering. While the installation A Statement of Form highlighted Gaggenau’s dedication to craftsmanship, cultural heritage, and high performance, the subsequent The Elevation of Gravity in 2024 made tangible the brand’s constant pursuit of an elevated lifestyle shaped by artisanal mastery, giving physical form to gravity itself.
With Presence, at this year’s Milan Design Week, the brand developed a journey of extreme purity inside the villa’s glass pavilion, centered on sensory perception: the soft feel of the walkway, the light filtering through the glass and refracting on the surfaces of the appliances, and the installation’s walls with their tactile materiality and enveloping chromatic tones. A fully immersive experience culminating in the culinary dimension of taste, thanks to collaboration with three-Michelin-star chef Tohru Nakamura.
Developed in collaboration with the Munich-based architecture studio 1zu33 and executed by Conduk, the project created a sense of focus and clarity for visitors, culminating in appliances seamlessly integrated into the installation – just as they would be in any architectural context. Key highlights, placed at various focal points, included the Expressive series oven framed by a central travertine staircase; the Minimalistic series set against a mirrored and smoked backlit glass backdrop; Vario cooktops integrated into basalt and charred wood surfaces; and Vario Expressive refrigeration units and climate-controlled wine cabinets presented in burnished brass.
“With Presence, we have created an installation that expresses our idea of refinement through architecture, proportion, and material,” said Peter Goetz, CEO of Gaggenau. “At Villa Necchi Campiglio, it was possible to experience Gaggenau beyond a simple product presentation: the appliances become part of a thoughtfully designed architectural composition.”
Within the exhibition, the evolution of the Vario cooling Expressive series also emerges. Designed to offer a modular and customizable approach to contemporary kitchen architecture, the new range includes refrigerators, freezers, fridge-freezer combinations, and climate-controlled wine cabinets. Distinctive is their design, which allows the appliances to become one with the kitchen concept: handleless doors, flush surfaces, and interiors rigorously structured in dark brushed stainless steel, anthracite aluminum, and glass. High-performance design objects that harmonize within the space.
