Milan, Italy
What do birds, leaves, insects and apples have in common? The realms of nature and appliances were muddled at EuroCucina in Milan overnight when Smeg unveiled its new gas hob technology, which utilises bucolic symbols in the trivets of this new cooktop technology.
Unlike traditional gas hobs, which use a multitude of small holes to fuel the flame for cooking, Smeg’s new cooktops use a solid ring of fuel injection, providing extremely efficient cooking with fast heat-up and even heat distribution, the company said.
These cooktops were unveiled today with both traditional trivets, made of titanium to withstand wear and tear, and several high concept designs that certainly caught the eye of the thousands of trade delegates visiting the show at the Milan fairgrounds.
The cooktops are part of the brand new Dolce Stil Novo line of Smeg cookers, which have been designed in collaboration with Guido Canali, who has previously worked with Smeg on its Classic range. Smeg is famous for working with industrial designers and architects to create new appliance styles, having also worked with Renzo Piano and Marc Newson. Loosely translating as ‘new, sweet life’, the Dolce Stil Novo appliances were shown in white and black.
This was the most readily noticeable new innovation from the Italian manufacturer. Also showcased on its stand was a new 45 centimetre dishwasher that uses oscillating movement, called the ‘SwingWatch’ system, to clean the full cavity of the dishwasher. The corners on 45 centimetre dishwashers are notoriously difficult to reach, as the swinging arm at the base of the machine has less room to manoeuvre. Smeg claims this system overcomes that challenge.
An expected growth category over the next 24 months is wine coolers. Smeg unveiled two built-in wine coolers at the show, in 18 and 38 bottle varieties, with an aesthetic to match the brand’s previously released range of compact appliances. These cabinets have touch controls for setting temperature and humidity and have removable wooden shelves.
On the subject of Smeg’s compact range, the company unveiled five new styles of “reduced height” ovens that promise to not compromise on the performance of 60 centimetre models. These 40-litre ovens, microwave-combi and steam combi ovens are now available in Dolce Stil Novo, Classic, Linear, Colonial and, perhaps most interesting, Victoria. The previously released Victoria range cooker has been attracting a lot of praise so this style transition into the built-in space is likely to garner more attention.
