Open to consumers, architects, interior designers and trade customers, the Experience Centre welcomes both pre-booked appointments and walk-ins from those looking to achieve Kitchen Perfection at home or in their designs.
Stephen Rickersey, Chief Operating Officer for Fisher & Paykel UK, Ireland & Europe said: “From start to finish, every single detail of our Experience Centre has been meticulously thought out. Paying respectful homage to both our New Zealand heritage and London postcode, the space will offer a completely new take on the appliance research and sourcing process.”
The experience centre honours its roots from Aotearoa by greeting guests with an offering of Kawakawa tea prepared on a ‘hot rock’. The ceremonial tea is revered among Maori as being super healing and restorative.
With the experience of food tasting in the luxuriously appointed Social Kitchen, the London Experience Centre speaks to the brand’s commitment to Kitchen Perfection, Perfect Results and the evolution of laundry into a bespoke fabric care solution.
A key part of Fisher & Paykel’s global rollout of luxury Experience Centres, the space on Wigmore St has been designed in a creative collaboration between architects Brinkworth, bespoke cabinet maker Jacob Alexander, Fisher & Paykel’s design team, and Alt Group, the brand’s strategic brand partner.
“We design some of the best appliances in the world,” says Fisher & Paykel CEO Daniel Witten-Hannah. “We wanted to demonstrate the potential of our products in the world’s best kitchens, and through creative collaboration with Brinkworth and Jacob Alexander, that is what these represent.”
What to expect at the London Experience Centre
Fisher & Paykel’s approach to Experience Centre design reflects its ‘Designed in New Zealand’ ethos, which prioritises architecture that has meaningful connections to place and is respectful of culture, history and materials.
Brinkworth has brought that concept to life in London through a refined material palette of elm, inspired by the site’s proximity to three of London’s famous green spaces; Portland stone — the great stone of London; and deep brown glazed tiles, whose source of inspiration is the subterranean network of brick-clad waterways that intersect the site.
Key spaces within the Experience Centre include a Minimal Kitchen, a showcase of how seamless integration of appliances lifts the kitchen beyond utility into a crafted and furniture-like space. An Apartment Kitchen shows that luxury need not be defined by size. While the Fabric Care Solutions space shows how Fisher & Paykel has evolved the concept of laundry beyond washing and drying to encompass fibre-specific tailored fabric care.
The heart of the London Experience Centre is The Social Kitchen and dining space. In this subterranean space, inhouse chefs will lead Mastery of Temperature culinary experiences, bringing to life the insights behind the brand’s approach to food care and cooking.
“Throughout the London Experience Centre, every interaction has been crafted to resonate with who we are and every physical element is carefully considered — from the offering of kawakawa tea upon entry, to the descent of a discreet sculptural spiral stair into a luxurious vaulted space. A hidden kitchen, where guests are welcomed by a bowler-hatted sculpture by Michael Parekōwhai, New Zealand’s foremost living artist,” says Witten-Hannah.
The Wigmore Street Experience Centre aims to help develop the brand’s growing presence in the UK, and alongside being open to consumers, it is a resource that will support and inspire key professional audiences such as designers and architects.
For more information on bookings for Master of Temperature culinary experiences and guided tours of the new space, learn more from the website below.