Italian designer Riccardo Randi’s nomadic kitchen comes flat-packed and can be put together – and taken apart – in less than two hours.
You can’t take it with you is a proverb that could typically apply to a kitchen. Not so with this system by Riccardo Randi. Dubbed Very Simple Kitchen (VSK), the Bologna designer’s idea for a kit-of-parts kitchen germinated when he moved into an apartment that was devoid of any kind of cooking space. This led him to fabricate his own – one that he didn’t want to leave behind when he left. “I think the concept of nomadic furniture is really strong right now,” he says. “It reflects people of my generation, who move and change houses many times.”
Made in collaboration with fellow designers Federica Poluzzi and Michele Bernini, VSK works hard to make things easy. Its powder-coated sheet steel was chosen for its durability, but also for its ties to the northern regions of Italy, where industry techniques are constantly evolving – and the modules assemble using standard-issue Allen screws. Completing the VSK package are options like laminated plywood or ceramic countertops, and wood-slat or metal pegboard backsplashes. The sink area is cut to accommodate products from Ikea.
For Randi, who comes from a family of chefs (over the years his mother has owned various restaurants in Bologna, food capital of Italy), the kitchen is really about what you do with it. VSK’s raw and slightly unfinished look is intentional – an invitation for culinary experimentation and to make a bit of a mess. It also makes perfect sense for a kitchen you might want to take with you.
Very Simple Kitchen will be available in 2018.