kengo kuma's irori paper pavilion at milan design week

kengo kuma’s irori pavilion for kitchenhouse at milan design week
image © designboom

during milan design week 2015, acclaimed japanese architect kengo kuma has collaborated with kitchenhouse to produce ‘irori’, a contemporary kitchen space that represents a new way of living. working from the starting point that human beings have always lived around the elements of fire and water, kengo kuma’s design places the stove and the sink at the heart of the pavilion, surrounded by ancillary amenities.

the arched pavilion contains a contemporary kitchen space
image © designboom

the pavilion, which is conceived as a ‘white cocoon’, has been constructed using 1 millimeter thick vulcanized paper that has been twisted and woven to form the arched structure. internal components are composed of modular bamboo boards and steel pipes, which can be used to make a table, a bench or a shelving unit. consequently, as the inhabitants life expands – so does the kitchen.

the design places the stove and sink at the heart of the pavilion, surrounded by ancillary amenities
image © designboom

‘we don’t kitchens, this a new lifestyle with fire and water are at the center’, kengo kuma told designboom. ‘it is a bond for the family – this is not a kitchen as a box, this is a new space protected by a very soft skin.

‘we wanted to make the pavilion as soft as possible, but normal paper is too soft, so we found a special treated paper called vulcanized paper. this is harder than a normal paper, but it still maintains a softness. it looks very similar to a cocoon.’

the structure has been constructed using 1 millimeter thick vulcanized paper
image © designboom