3D-printed kitchenware combines futuristic style and functionality

Filling a kitchen in 2018 is an exercise in restraint. Today, there’s a single-use tool for every culinary need, no matter how small the task. But the future of dining might look a lot different if you’re to believe the vision of designer Joe Doucet.

Photo via Joe Doucet

In a new exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt called Tablescapes: Designs for Dining, Doucet partnered with fashion designer Mary Ping and architect Stella Lee to imagine the pared-down future for kitchenware. Doucet designed a line of 3D-printed kitchenware that pulls triple duty for cooking, serving, and storing food.

Photo via Joe Doucet

Working with Shapeways, Doucet 3D-printed a set of sleek cutlery as well as a line of black and white vessels that have a bumpy surface for added grip. Doucet designed the vessels for a future with limited resources. The objects have lids that double as plates and serving trays, which he says will reduce the amount of water used to clean the dishes.

”By creating hybrid vessels, which act as cooking, serving and storage for food, we eliminate the need to use separate items for each step and avoid wasting potable water to clean each item between uses,” Doucet explains. We like the sound of that.