This past February, over 133,000 buyers arrived in Frankfurt to attend the Ambiente 2010 Consumer Goods Fair. Arranged into three sections–Giving, Living, and Dining–the exhibits included everything from plastic storage containers to crystal goblets. What’s different at this show is the debut of Talents, Ambiente’s promotional area: “This year, design has become more of a focal point at Dining.” Ambiente reports that “the 17 young designers astonished trade and industry.”

Mobile Modules. Designed by Burkhard Schäller.

One member of that small, exciting group is German interior designer Burkhard Schäller, who presented his vision of a mobile kitchen. I am no psychiatrist, but I have an inkling that Schäller may suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder. The careful, if not downright fanatical, outlining that is a strong part of his design reminds me of Phil, my OCD neighbor. In Phil’s shop, adjacent to his impeccably arranged garage, EVERY tool has a place on a peg board–anyone who might borrow a tool will know exactly where to put it back, since Phil has created a perfect tracing of each tool, cut it out using cardboard, punched it with a perfect hole, and hung it in the tool’s correct place (he did not simply draw the tool’s shadow on the pegboard, as that would be messy and would not allow for changes in the tool’s location). It is a sight to behold!

Schäller’s mobile kitchen concept includes a similar attention to detail, as every kitchen tool has its place outlined in curvy wire. The three collapsible units that Schäller presented all include a shadow world that reminds you where everything belongs. A spoon shape, a pan shape, even a corkscrew shape indicate where these kitchen items go within his compact kitchen design. The use of a simple wire frame allows for this level of specificity, which would indeed prove necessary for maintaining the order of such a compact space. I particularly like the slots for pot lids, those pesky items that always cause trouble. And the spaces for spices are quite nice too–though they lend themselves to orderly arrangements. One unit includes a sink, another a cooktop, and the third a prep space. It seems that Schäller has thought of everything. But there is always someone who can mess up any kitchen, no matter how organized he found it. I can volunteer a couple of people who might best put this mobile kitchen concept to the test (and probably distress the hell out of poor Schäller)!