Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka has developed a transparent modular kitchen system with smoked glass surfaces that display the tools inside (+ slideshow).

Tokyo-based Yoshioka designed the Finesse kitchen for Nagoya brand Toyo Kitchen Style, after being asked to create an innovative and original kitchen concept.

The designer unveiled his first proposal in 2010 and has been working with the client since then to refine the design.

Yoshioka often uses glass in his designs, with past examples including a transparent tea house beside a Buddhist temple, a table with a mirrored surface and a see-through wardrobe and matching bench.

His design for the Finesse kitchen is based on the notion that open-plan living has allowed cooking to take on a central role in domestic life.

"These days, the kitchen has become more open and cooking itself has become like a performance," Yoshioka told Dezeen.

"The glass kitchen realises design that choreographs the whole space including kitchen tools. It is my answer to the future of kitchen."

Yoshioka also believes that more people today are investing in highly designed kitchenware that is worthy of being displayed rather than hidden in cupboards.

"Today, we live in the era in which almost everything is designed," Yoshioka added. "In order to show the beauty of kitchen tools we chose glass, which is a semi-permanent material for the kitchen."

Related content: see more from Tokujin Yoshioka

"The smoked glass harmonises the appearance of the tools stored inside the kitchen, and creates a simple and profound impression."

A minimal steel frame accommodates drawers that slide outwards from either side of the island unit. Its modular construction allows different configurations.

The use of transparent materials and the modularity of the units ensures the system is suited to a wide variety of potential kitchen schemes and aesthetic tastes.

Other designers have also been experimenting with glass furniture recently. British duo Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby used the material for a series of cabinets intended to display eclectic object or curios, while French designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec developed a furniture collection using panes of clear or tinted glass.