LuxeBook February 2022

P icture sleek lines, shiny steel surfaces, minimalist designs that are handcrafted by Gaggenau, one of the most luxurious home appliance brands in the world. A range of high-end ovens, cooktops, refrigerators, washing machines, coffee machines, dishwashers, have been devised through centuries of understanding the craft. The brand is part of the BSH (Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte) Group’s array of brands, which includes household names like Bosch and Siemens.To understand what makes Gaggenau the king of luxury household appliances, LuxeBook spoke with the man steering the show in India — Neeraj Bahl, Managing Director and CEO at BSH Household Appliances. Bahl took over in August 2019, bringing with him over 25 years of experience in the consumer-electronics field, having worked at Panasonic India Pvt. Ltd, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Electrolux India before taking over at BSH Household Appliances. Enter a zone of luxury At the BSH Group’s lavish Experience Centre in South Mumbai, Bahl takes us on a tour of the newly designed space. The CEO’s grand vision for Gaggenau has manifested itself into this state-of-the-art experience centre, called UnserHaus, German for ‘our house.’ Grand wooden doors, carved with a giant U, handmade by Indian craftsmen, push open to enter a space that feels like someone’s home. The U itself has been given an Indian twist, the design of the letter takes inspiration from the distinct borders of a Banarasi sari, an ode to the craftsmanship of India, and an attempt at injecting local culture into an international brand. Housed on the 9th floor, the 2,500 square feet space has sprawling views of the coast and Mumbai’s famous Bandra-Worli Sealink. The centre is mindfully designed. The welcome area incorporates the Indian design concept of a courtyard and uses natural handcrafted bricks. A perforated brick wall at the entrance borrows from the concept of “jaali” (net) used in traditional Indian architecture. This adds an element at fluidity and provides an interplay of light and shadows. Next, the Gaggenau section of the experience centre is sophisticated and luxuriously laid out. The brand’s philosophy of promoting artisans and taking their customer’s local tastes and preferences into account is reflected in the woven netting for the window shade and covering of the hanging lights. Two live kitchen counters are fitted with cutting-edge Gaggenau 20| L U X E B O O K | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 | L U X E B O O K | 21