Premium brand Gaggenau explained experience was the driver of luxury design, as it introduced “shy tech” appliances, set to  launch during Milan Design Week.

UK interior designer Sophie Ashby hosted a discussion panel featuring Gaggenau experts at Villa Necchi Campiglio, where it will host The Elevation of Gravity  installation from April 16-21.

MD of Gaggenau Dr Peter Goetz explained the brand was bringing professional functionality into high-end homes: “Private homes, for our target group, play an increasing role. People are investing in their private homes. It’s not just about a private family life, it’s about hosting and entertaining.”

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He spoke about the need to create balance in home design, providing appliances with professional functionality and aesthetics seamlessly integrated into high-end living spaces.

Offering an observation, head of global business development Kais Zaiane said kitchens were becoming more important in home design, with architects, designers and developers giving them more space as part of open plan living.

Preferring to use the term living space to encompass the kitchen, Peter Goertz commented: “I personally don’t like the term kitchen. It’s a functional term. I prefer to talk about living spaces.

“We want to integrate ourselves in order to value the living space and not compromise on aesthetical solutions. So the consumer can enjoy the aesthetic of the living space without compromising on the performance of the product.”

Head of global design at Gaggenau Sven Baacke set the stage for the launch of new products, using ‘invisible’ technology, which he called “shy tech”, where appliances merge with kitchen furniture.

Gaggenau highlighted the Essential induction hob, where only an indicator dot to illustrate the zones and control knobs were visible in a worktop.

Industrial designer at Gaggenau Mikel Brandt Bugge said the essence of luxury appliance design was not based on number of functions, materiality or monetary value but emotional experiences.

Having worked for six years to develop a new cooling appliances series, set to be launched in Milan, he said it had been designed to create emotion with ‘theatre-inspired’ lighting that stages the food within it.

Talking about how consumer needs had changed in the luxury sector, Peter Goetz  stated: “Luxury has been perceived as materialism, as status-orientated, luxury is becoming more subtle. Luxury is an experience. Luxury gives meaning. We are dedicated to the principle ‘less for a life of more’.”

Co-head of communications and user experience Juliette Gygi agreed: “We see this shift from materialism to meaning, from net worth to self-worth and this makes taste a very important virtue to us.

“We define taste as the ability of a person to touch and recognise good quality and the nice thing about taste is it’s priceless. You cannot buy it. You have to earn it. You have to cultivate it over years, and we believe that’s exactly what our target group is doing.

“We discovered a shared mindset between our brand and our target audience and it’s the pursuit of impeccable taste….Gaggenau is for those who know.”