Jasper Morrison designs first kitchen for Schiffini
British designer Jasper Morrison has revealed Lepic, his first industrially produced kitchen (+ slideshow).
Created for Italian manufacturers Schiffini, the Lepic kitchen brings Morrison's "super normal" aesthetic into a new arena.
It features simple hoods, worktops, doors, drawers and units designed around Schiffini's modular system.
Schiffini described the Lepic design as "an apparently easy and intuitive system, but rich in detail".
The worktops are made from wood fibre panels, plated on both sides with an acrylic laminate. Called Fenix NTM, this material is manufactured by a super opaque nanotech material Arpa Industriale using nanotechnology that the Italian company claims allows it to self-fix small scratches.
The kitchen comes in three finishes called white malè, black indigo and beige luxor. Edges are in natural oak or douglas fir.
To debut the kitchen in its Milan showroom, Schiffini presented it in three configurations, each informed by a different city – Tokyo (white), Stockholm (beige) or Milan (black).
Morrison is considered one of the world's best industrial designers. In 2006 he popularised his self-coined term "super normal" to describe the ideal of unobtrusive but atmospheric design.
"The super normal object is the result of a long tradition of evolutionary advancement in the shape of everyday things, not attempting to break with the history of form but rather trying to summarise it," he wrote.
Last month Morrison unveiled a collection of "super normal" furniture designed for Swiss brand Vitra during Milan design week, which included a modular sofa, cubic armchair and plastic chair that looked like it was made from wood.
"In his work, he strives to create good examples of understated, useful and responsible design," said Vitra.
His interpretation of conscious design has also involved experimenting with sustainable materials, as in the Alfi collection made of reclaimed post-industrial waste for American furniture brand Emeco.
Morrison is not the only high-end designer moving into mass-produced kitchens. Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola launched her Salinas range for Boffi last year, taking inspiration from the kitchen in her grandfather's house and updating it with matt-black metal frames.
Meanwhile, Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka envisaged his kitchen for Toyo Kitchen Style as a modular system with smoked glass surfaces that showcased the tools inside.