Innovative ways of effortlessly keeping things tidy. Intelligent storage solutions for clearing up quickly. A clear, understated design with a uniform color scheme. These are the requirements of kitchen users according to a recent study carried out by market research institute K&A Brand Research*. Now, a new generation of hardware for wooden pivot and folding/slide-in doors is helping cabinet makers and joiners to implement these requirements for their customers in furniture and interior design in an uncomplicated way.
Swiss company Hawa Sliding Solutions AG has developed the “Hawa Concepta III” family together with fabricators and users. The name stands for a high degree of metamorphosis on furniture. Entire single-line kitchens neatly disappear behind a uniformly designed and flush-fitting front in an instant. Or previously hidden kitchen functions become fully available within seconds. Doors do not protrude into the room but are parked in a pocket at the side, therefore saving space.
This patented solution flexibly changes the size and effect of the room in accordance with requirements. It makes the difference between having a closed kitchen or a kitchen that is open to the living area. And it creates the basis for developing kitchens into a multi-functional room by integrating a home office or utility room.
Individual design
Regardless of the height and width of the door, be it as a Pull solution with a handle or as a handle-less Push solution, for composed cabinets or floor-to-ceiling solutions and walk-in solutions, inlaid or overlaid – the “Hawa Concepta III” pivot / slide-in hardware provides a wide range of variants which will be extended with the “Hawa Folding Concepta III” folding / slide-in hardware for two-door, four-door and also three-door solutions without a separating wall during the course of this year.
Planning assistance
Planning assistance is provided by a configurator which Hawa will be demonstrating at the Holz-Handwerk trade fair in Nuremberg from March 19 to 22, 2024. The digital assistant, which will be available in five languages (German, English, French, Italian and Spanish) after the trade fair, guides the fabricator through the planning process step by step. It provides suitable hardware for the individually configured solution, including cutting dimensions, 2D design drawings, part lists and 3D step data.
Quick & easy installation
Whereas conventional pivot/slide-in hardware appears very complex, the “Hawa Concepta III” simplifies installation for the fabricator significantly. The high degree of pre-assembly reduces the amount of work as well as the number of needed tools. The three components and 14 screws can be installed quickly and intuitively.
Adjustment in four dimensions – the vertical positioning of the door, the setting of the vertical joint and the height and depth adjustment – takes place via the logically positioned and easily accessible adjustment points. Particularly here, the cabinet maker/joiner benefits from the fact that input from users and also interior designers, planners and fabricator colleagues has flowed directly into the development of the “Hawa Concepta III”.
Intuitive & emotional operation
This year, Hawa received the highest honor at the Kitchen Innovation Award for this hardware system for the first time. In the evaluation by an expert jury and the subsequent nationwide consumer survey, the “Hawa Concepta III” made an impression with the criteria of functionality, operating comfort, innovative power, product benefits and design.
Not only cabinet makers and joiners benefit from this, but also their customers. Opening and closing of the “Hawa Concepta III” takes place without the use of force via a few touch points. Matthias Rothbrust from the “Hawa Concepta” innovation team is convinced: “Everyone will do this correctly right from the start”. Because the hardware thinks with you, and determines the movement. The ergonomic movement support provides even and smooth running. Magnets guide the doors into the pocket free of play. Thanks to the integrated soft closing mechanism, operation becomes an emotional experience, which makes the movement gentle and quiet.
* K&A Brand Research, Röthenbach/Germany, has supported brands with psychological market research for more than 35 years, allowing them to become successfully anchored in the relevant contexts. LifeCare.Network, the organizing institution of the internationally renowned and annually presented Kitchen Innovation Award consumer award, commissions the market research institute to carry out the annual trend research at regular intervals.
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Caption: Entire single-line kitchens neatly disappear behind a uniformly designed and flush-fitting front in an instant with “Hawa Concepta III”. Or previously hidden kitchen functions become fully available within seconds. Doors do not protrude into the room but are parked in a pocket at the side, therefore saving space. Photo: Hawa Sliding Solutions AG 
