NEWS | ARCLINEA IN THE NEWS

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“According to Philip Guarino, who launched Arclinea’s first United States showroom in Boston in 2001, Arclinea’s take on design consists of applying the technology and solutions of a professional kitchen to home kitchen design. Specifically, the company believes kitchens should be designed according to how its owners move and how they cook.

“The triangle concept is based on the placement of appliances. Arclinea isn’t focused on that,” said Guarino. “We emphasize movements, ergonomics, and space efficiency. We feel the design of the kitchen should be much less about the space, the dimensions of a room, and more about how one operates within the space.”

"Italian architect Antonio Citterio, now 56, was a bachelor in 1984 when he began designing products for Arclinea...but his latest creations reflect a broader perspective on how families are using their kitchens—thanks to his being married with children for the past decade. 'It's an old story to separate the kitchen and dining room,' says Citterio...

"To eliminate a demarcation between the two rooms, Citterio's designs utilize sliding doors or none at all. Consequently, family members can move to and fro freely, treating the kitchen less like a sterile workplace and the dining room more like a multipurpose space. 'The new kitchen is about integration, rather than isolation from the rest of the house,' says Philip Guarino, president of Arclinea Boston, one of four Arclinea showrooms in the United States...

'Citterio,' says Guarino, 'is tearing down the walls.'"

"Concept is key at Arclinea Boston, an Italian kitchen design company....In-house architects are available to design your dream kitchen. 'We define the design concept in our first meeting; then the next step is a site visit,' says Maria de las Mercedes Farrando, senior project manager. 'It could take up to 10 meetings—I need to understand how you live, how you move. I'm piecing all of the elements together.' Farrando once received a bouquet of flowers from one Watertown couple one year after the kitchen was completed. 'The card said, 'We're celebrating our kitchen's first anniversary.'"

“Part of what we do is work on the aesthetics of someone’s kitchen space,” Guarino said during a recent interview at the Boston showroom….

Pieces are crafted in Italy using only the finest material, said Guarino—like the teak used in some of the tables it makes available—and then shipped to the United States.

“We represent a lifestyle, “ said Guarino. “When people work with us, we spend time trying to understand how they live and work in the kitchen before we even start the design process.”

“Arclinea, purveyor of luxe Italian kitchens created by superstar architect Antonio Citterio, has a completely revamped flagship showroom in the design district. The 3,000-square-foot space was created by Mercedes Farrando, one of the on-site architects available to guide clients through the company’s sleek, innovative kitchen systems (all custom-crafted in Italy). Local chefs, including Todd English, have stopped by to jot favorite recipes on the showroom’s chalkboard walls.”

“Many city dwellings have closets bigger than their kitchens. Fortunately, salvation is just around the corner, and we’re not talking great takeout. Arclinea, which opened in Boston last February, is more a problem solver than a store. Staffed by architects and architects-in-training, this kitchen showroom features the most ingenious use of space since the skyscraper. Baseboards become drawers. Cabinet doors slide instead of pulling out. And every component is sleek and functional, custom-made in Italy. You control the final design and cost, choosing from 13 pricing levels of materials. Now you’re cooking.”

“...Arclinea has become known throughout the world as the quintessential force in the ongoing pursuit of fitting the professionalism of a chef’s kitchen within the more practical space of a home. One pass through their newly renovated showroom at 10 St. James Avenue in Bay Village is all you need to feel the difference between the two. Simply put, there is no comparison between the Arclinea kitchen and anything else you’ve had in your home. These designs will change your life.”

“Imagine the kitchen of your dreams. No more cluttered countertops. No more overfilled cabinets. Everything in your dream kitchen is designed with your needs in mind right down to the slide-out counter for the coffeemaker. Arlington residents John and Karen King no longer have to dream....

‘I walked into the Arclinea center and that was it,’ (Karen King) recalled....

‘They (the design team) learned and understood what needed to be done. The space requirements led them to design the room. The Arclinea literature has a workflow diagram. Being educated to that, they were able to design a functional room and an aesthetic room at the same time, which is unique,’ said John King....

‘I just like the feeling, the emotion, that I have when I come into this kitchen. It’s such a cook’s kitchen—a true cook’s kitchen, and I’m humbled by that. Whenever we come in here and are cooking together, we discover something new about this kitchen. It’s amazing. It’s such a pleasure to cook in this kitchen,’ said Karen King.”

“Arclinea kitchens are a big selling point at 360 Newbury Street, a new 54-unit condominium project in the Virgin Records building redesigned by noted California architect Frank Gehry in the 1980s, says Curtis Kemeny, president of Boston Residential Group, which is developing the project. ‘The kitchen is a very important feature for buyers of high-end condos,’ he says, ‘particularly a high-end loft condo like this, which has a funky style to it.’ When funky can cost as much as $3.5 million, outfitting units with Arclinea’s kitchens, says Kemeny, means ‘you sell them for more, and you sell them faster.’”

“Feast your eyes on Antonio Citterio’s characteristically sleek—but unexpectedly shiny—stainless-steel Convivium kitchen. The design embraces three sociable zones: a table-height island for entertaining guests, a cooking island with chef’s sink, and a stainless prep countertop with aluminum shelf.”

“An Arclinea kitchen is designed with the power of a Maserati.”

“At the heart of every home is a kitchen. And it would be fabulous if every kitchen had an Arclinea design: functional, organized, versatile, durable, ergonomic, yet still warm and inviting, and made with high-quality materials like stainless steel combined with nickel, Carrara marble, teak, and oak.”

Stuff@night, August 3, 2004 | Jen C. Lamar

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