Aran Cucine Oasi Kitchen

August 27, 2021

Much more than a kitchen, Oasi from Aran Cucine is an ideal synthesis of a forward-looking vision of the future. It is not only a live-in concept home but also a real cultural and social concept, full of environmental values that have always been dear to Stefano Boeri as much as Aran Cucine.

Sustainability issues not only focus on environmental protection; it concerns a general reflection on the quality of life, and not only for the new generations. Building a healthy and especially a mutual human-nature relationship, in fact, is vital for the survival of the planet and brings benefits in mental health, which have a positive influence on people’s lives. The concept of well-being is, not surprisingly, one of the most important inspiring principles in the design world so much that the relationship between human and nature is the heart of many projects by Stefano Boeri Architetti – a relationship in which architecture intervenes as a fundamental instrument of connection. Oasi is a symbol of this relationship set in a domestic environment because the house, and especially the kitchen, is an intimate space.

A distinctive feature of the model is a tree, placed at the center of the kitchen island. The essentiality of the design succeeds to conceal the extraordinary research, both in terms of innovation and technology, which made it possible to design a multifunction single-block kitchen. Following the principle of circularity, a homeowner can turn around the free-standing kitchen unit and carry out all the phases of the food cycle – storage, washing, preparation, cooking, serving, consumption and recycling. The worktop, thanks to the special sliding system of two extensions, expands into a dining table to encourage conviviality. The internal space of the device allows creating storage units useful as pantry to house appliances and an irrigation system that allows the ideal maintenance of the tree.

Like a circle, Oasi embraces and gathers different reflections, actions and reports. The kitchen island doors are crafted from old oak of Venice reclaimed sea oak known as ‘briccole’. The trash compactor reduces to a minimum the amount of rubbish, which is good for the environment, and there is also an area dedicated to compost for fertilizing the tree.

Oasi is the expression of a life cycle, also a symbol of family values — a tree around which to gather, discuss and grow together. As the homeowner grows, the tree will grow itself, like a family, until the kitchen turns into something new, following the dynamism of the people linked together under its branches.