• KM 7999 induction hob awarded iF Gold, the highest accolade
• Jury honours Otto Wilde Platform, a modular and customisable outdoor kitchen

A total of 7 Miele appliances convinced the jury behind the coveted iF Design Award design prize. Alongside the motorised Black Levantar downdraught extractor, the SmartLine cooking units Hong Kong CS 7151/7152 with a gas burner and refrigeration products from the K 4000 generation joined Miele Professional washing machines and dryers from the PWM and PDR commercial series among the winners. This year, the jury was particularly convinced by the flexible KM 7999 induction hob with a colour display which was awarded the iF Gold Award 2022. Another award-winning product was the Otto Wilde Platform, a modular and customisable outdoor kitchen centred on the G32 Connected gas grill offered by the Otto Wilde company in which the Miele Group has a majority stake.

The design awards have now been staged by the iF International Forum Design GmbH for almost 70 years – an independent design institute based in Hanover. With its exacting demands on design, the awards constitute one of the most reputable design competitions in the world. This year, the 75-strong international jury made up of design experts passed their expert opinion on almost 10,800 entries from 49 countries. They assess products with respect to their concept, form, function, differentiation and impact.

The KM 7999 hob unit met the high standards of the jury all along the line and was even granted the coveted award in Gold, of which a total of 73 were awarded this year, for its design. The versatile hob unit offering space for up to 5 pots and pans and a touch display found favour with the jurors, who liked, in particular, the sophisticated details and the intelligent user interaction: 'We love the freedom of cooking facilitated by the simple graphics which create synergies between the user interface and the hob unit. Perfect proportions with just a touch of colour ensures that this hob unit stands apart from others by blending in', was the verdict of the experts.

An iF Award also went to the Black Levantar downdraught extractor, developed and built at Miele's competence plant for ventilation and filtration technology in Arnsberg. Discreetly concealed in the base unit, it only rises above the worktop when cooking is in progress. Thanks to a 17 cm deep fan unit, more space remains in the base unit for drawers. Thanks to Con@ctivity, suction power adapts to work on the hob in three settings and two booster stages. Manual operation involving reaching over the hob is no longer required. New, too, are the convenient controls using WiFi technology and the Miele app. Perfect illumination of the neighbouring hob unit is provided by dimmable three-stage LED lighting.

Two gas modules, specifically designed for the cooking habits and preferences of consumers in Hong Kong, also excelled in terms of flexibility. The models from the SmartLine series are particularly slim whilst featuring high-power brass burners. Their special X-shape trivet design provides the maximum possible support for large pots and pans, and above all for woks.

When it comes to refrigerators, Miele gathered points for its new generation of free-standing units, due to be phased in from September 2022 onwards. The K 4000 generation offers a broad selection of surface finishes, colours and high-class materials. The jury was convinced by the clear lines which underline the puristic design. Inside, innovative FlexiLight 2.0 in combination with an elegant stainless-steel rear panel is featured. The glare-free light sources can be individually positioned; the interior is perfectly and uniformly illuminated.

Clear, intuitive design and choice materials

The design experts also commended two products from Miele's Professional sector: The flagship Performance Plus machines with their stainless-steel fronts persuaded the jury above all by virtue of their intuitive user interface and a design which exudes composure and clarity. Alongside the design, the jury praised the use of the best possible materials which include only a small percentage of plastics. Both aspects results in unparallelled robustness and longevity. This also applies to over 90 wash programmes grouped into programme packages to serve the needs of specific channels. These includes special-purpose programmes for workwear, domestic-type clothing such as shirts, and WetCare programmes, Miele's aqueous wash system for garments labelled 'non-washable'. Features also include two programmes for the RKI-compliant disinfection of laundry from retirement homes.

For the first time, Miele's Otto Wilde subsidiary had the pleasure of receiving an iF Design Award for the new Otto Wilde Platform – in the 'Garden' category, this candidate collected 390 of a maximum of 500 points. The heart and soul of the modular Otto Wilde Platform is the G32 Connected gas grill which can be combined with a top-heat grill, powerful gas burner, sink and storage modules to give a bespoke outdoor kitchen. The gas grill offers a variety of sensors and temperature probes, indicators, individual zones and further settings which users benefit from in combination with an app to arrive at professional, premium barbecue results.

Company profile: Miele is the world's leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floor care products. Their product portfolio also includes dishwashers, air purifiers, washing machines and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as washer-disinfectors and sterilisers for use in medical and laboratory applications. Founded in 1899, the company has eight production plants in Germany, one each in Austria, the Czech Republic, China, Romania and Poland as well as two production plants belonging to its Italian medical technology subsidiary Steelco. Sales in the 2021 business year amounted to around € 4.84 bn. Miele is represented with its own sales subsidiaries and via importers in almost 100 countries/regions. Throughout the world, the family-run enterprise, now in its fourth generation, employs a workforce of around 22,300, of which approx. 11,200 employees work in Germany. The company has its headquarters in Gütersloh in Westphalia.