1925-2025. 100 years of kitchen design, creativity, conviviality and relationships — values Arclinea has consistently nurtured, driving a forward-thinking vision capable of anticipating change.
At Milan Design Week in April 2025, Arclinea launched its year-long celebrations of this significant milestone with a series of artistic and cultural initiatives. These projects reflected the brand’s core values, promoting conviviality and celebrating the art of cooking as a moment of connection and exchange.
The first project unveiled was the photography book 100 YEARS, 100 INGREDIENTS, featuring 100 carefully selected still-life images of ingredients that embodied Italy’s rich gastronomic heritage. This elegant coffee table book came to life through the lens of French photographer Amélie Ambroise, with art direction by Juma. In Amélie’s work, even the simplest items — from a piece of fruit to a head of garlic — were elevated to art status, captured in their pure state before becoming raw materials for culinary creativity.
The collection of 100 photographs was also individually showcased as part of an exhibition at Arclinea’s Milan showroom, where the skylight-illuminated space transformed into a gallery. Displayed in various formats along both sides of the space, the curation cultivated a vibrant and immersive visual journey. The exhibition also included an exclusive iteration of the Convivium kitchen island.
Designed specifically for this event, the Convivium island was free of appliances and incorporated the new Proxima model plinth solution. A high-gloss steel finish enveloped the entire surface without interruption, providing a captivating visual effect. This design aimed to highlight the kitchen as a space for connection and interaction within an artistic dimension. The choice of mirrored steel was intentional: reflecting light and its surroundings, and establishing a visual and sensory connection between food, kitchen, and people.
From the start of Milan Design Week in early April and throughout the anniversary year, Amélie Ambroise’s 100 images were made available for purchase at www.artsy.net. The proceeds (net of the platform’s commission) and an additional fixed contribution from Arclinea were entirely donated to the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo (CN), in support of emerging talent and the right to education in the food sector. These funds were allocated to partially cover the tuition fees of one or more students.
“Celebrating our 100th anniversary meant looking to the future with the same passion and determination that built our history,” said Gianni Fortuna, CEO of Arclinea. “Our goal was twofold: to continue innovating in kitchen design while keeping alive the great Italian tradition, reinterpreted through cutting-edge materials, forms, and functions; and to support gastronomic culture, a shared heritage to preserve and enhance. This project — with the book and the exhibition — affirmed our commitment to food culture, which also translated into supporting the education of emerging talents, now more than ever in need of opportunities.”
“Food is perhaps humanity’s most powerful expressive medium: it conveys needs, passions, desires, skills, hospitality, sociality, wellness or discomfort, scarcity or abundance,” commented Nicola Perullo, Rector of the University of Pollenzo. “Food is material and imaginary, nature and culture, space and time. The meaning of the collaboration between the University of Pollenzo and Arclinea lay in this awareness, aiming to regenerate the value of tradition as a commitment to the future.”
The continuity of finishes applied to the Convivium island on display was also seen in the Proxima kitchen displayed in the via Durini window. On this occasion, it adopted a dramatic, theatrical appearance. The high-performance, professional model, presented at the previous year’s Milan Design Week, featured a large central island with a marble countertop, a “wet” working area behind it, and fully equipped side columns. The entire kitchen was clad in black, with PVD Plus steel for the base units and black ash for the column cabinets’ slatted doors.
“The innovation lay in redesigning the plinth, transforming it from a simple closure of the space beneath the cabinets into an architectural element,” explained Antonio Citterio, designer of the Arclinea Collection. “Made of folded steel, it ensured continuity and formal rigor, contributing to a perception of the kitchen as a unified volume. The new plinth acted as a base, not just a technical closure. Thanks to the stainless steel with PVD treatment, the entire kitchen system gained material and chromatic homogeneity, enabling a dialogue with natural woods and stones. This innovation, the result of extensive research, strengthened the design consistency of Arclinea’s kitchens, where every component is designed to integrate seamlessly, contributing to a harmonious and functional whole.”
A neighboring display showcased the iconic Lignum et Lapis model; presented in a Versylis marble version with Vintage Plus steel drawers and an open “wet” area without doors in matching finishes, creating an unbroken aesthetic continuity — interrupted only by side columns with fossil oak slatted doors. The two window displays were a tribute to minimalist design and the ability to create spaces where conviviality is central to every gesture, encounter, and experience.
Adjacent to the exhibition space, Proxima was displayed in a second configuration, characterized by American modularity with a wall layout. This arrangement included a central range and steel appliances. The storage area, with a fridge and pantry, was located on the second wall, while the doors were finished with g_cover: an innovative finish for Arclinea’s wooden kitchen panels, developed in collaboration with Alisea S.r.l. Società Benefit.
This refined coating featured an innovative ingredient: “g upgraded recycled graphite.” The graphite powder, recovered from industrial processes in high-tech companies, underwent a refining and treatment process to achieve superior properties. This not only contributed to the reuse of a valuable mineral but also enhanced the durability and resilience of the kitchens, protecting the wood from light and everyday wear and tear.
The use of g_cover reflected Arclinea’s commitment to minimizing environmental impact by creating high-quality, long-lasting products and adopting responsible yet innovative raw materials.