Valcucine

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Valcucine  - a company with a reputation for its revolutionary approach to ecologically sound materials and production methods in the creation of kitchens of rare beauty.

The Valcucine philosophy
Profit has been the main objective of industries for many years.  Important factors such as quality, safety and non-toxic products were of secondary importance thus neglecting respect for the environment and for Man.  
All this has caused the destruction of resources, the pollution of the earth, water and air and the accumulation of a large debt with nature that will be inherited by our children.
On the threshold of the third millennium, practical and ethical reasons compel us to make a drastic change of direction that will allow us to transform the destructive economy of the industrial era into a system that is capable of restoring health to our planet and improving the quality of our life.
For years Valcucine’s working method has placed aesthetical and creative requrements and the satisfaction of the user’s requirements in terms of functionality, ergonomics and safety in the foreground.  On the other hand, this has been balanced by respect for nature through the promotion of a system that combines the use and restoration of natural resources with savings on raw materials by means of design based on dematerialisation.
Valcucine’s activities
For years, environmental protection topics have been of paramount importance for the company in all its production process phases, from design to distribution. Every manufactured element is first studied in great detail to harmonise design as far as possible with environmental friendliness requirements. This means: 

• taking special care to produce with a low consumption of raw materials and energy;
• producing with recyclable materials;
• reducing toxic emissions and polluting chemical substances, both during production and utilisation;
• ensuring product durability.

This is possible thanks to the modern technologies that are exploited by the company.  Valcucine has adopted technology from the car industry to produce the most dematerialised door in the world: 2mm thick, using 90% less wood.
As well as the use of technology, Valcucine has also brought by handicraft workmanship. The inlay technique is an ancient woodwork skill resulting from years of experience and great manual ability. This skill had almost been forgotten and was dying in our industrialised society.

Daily cooking: the domestic ecology of the new cuisine
A Valcucine and Poli.design collaboration

A sustainable lifestyle is the result of a combination of virtuous daily behaviours and the use of eco-compatible products and services: how can a kitchen accommodate and encourage this behaviour, in other words bring about a more aware home cuisine?
To reply to this question with concrete ideas, scenarios and suggestions Valcucine has started collaborating with the Design and Innovation for Sustainability group of the INDACO department of the Polytechnic of Milan: the aim of this collaboration is the research and design of sustainable life scenarios in the kitchen.
A quality idea that is attentive to both environmental and social sustainability cannot merely regard the product but must also be reflected in the life-styles of those who use it, in daily practice; and this is exactly the definition of contemporary cuisine, aware and critical towards nutritional models that are no longer sustainable. It is necessary to radically renew our way of viewing food purchases, production, preparation, conservation and consumption. In other words, it is necessary to define, to acquire a new kitchen life-style made of choices, skills and pleasures. And the kitchen must be a protagonist and a tool of this transformation by offering the possibility of change to those experiencing it. The right kitchen to accommodate this awareness project can be no other than Riciclantica, that has just distinguished itself by being included in the ADI (Industrial Design Association) Index 2007 for its environment-respectful characteristics.
 
Kitchen design: Gabriele Centazzo (Valcucine patent)
Tap design: Gabriele Centazzo (Electrolux patent)
“Rondine” hood design: Gabiele Centazzo (Valcucine patent)
 
Setting and concept: POLI.design, Consortium of the Polytechnic of Milan
Head of science for research: Ezio Manzini and Anna Meroni with Giordana Ferri – Research Design and Innovation for Sustainability unit, INDACO department.
With the collaboration of: Daria Cantù, Francesca Mostardini (Pack.co), Caterina Lana, Pietro Curti.
 
100% recyclable with no need to disassemble
The first single-material aluminium door frame
The first 100% recyclable, 2mm thick glass door
The first 100% recyclable, 10mm thick glass carcass
100% recyclable cupboard carcass in honeycombed aluminium
Purified and sparkling water. Elimination of plastic bottles.
Blast chiller for food preservation
Heat-exchanger to recover hood heat
Lower consumptions thanks to the steam oven
Cupboard with reminder of seasonal fruit and vegetables
Vacuum pump to preserve food under a vacuum
Home sprouter