It all began in a field in the middle of nowhere: bulthaup was founded in 1949 by Martin Bulthaup. Right from the word go, bulthaup has understood design to be a comprehensive process involving form, material and processing. Unnecessary decoration of any kind is eschewed. The foundations for the company's innovative leadership were laid back in 1974 with the introduction of its C12 kitchen range. With this use of form, which was unusually modern for its time, coupled with its smart installation concept, bulthaup became the pioneer for the entire industry with its C12 range. Gerd Bulthaup took over as head of the company in 1978, following his father's death. His vision of expanding bulthaup to become the market leader in design-oriented kitchens, brought him into contact with the designer Otl Aicher. He was co-founder of the Ulm school, which reflects the tradition of the Weimar Bauhaus movement. In his book entitled "The kitchen for cooking”, published in 1982, Otl Aicher described a new kitchen philosophy. This book was based on a survey carried out for bulthaup. Ergonomic working was the most important factor. The design philosophy aims to achieve authenticity in terms of function and materials and regards reduction to the essentials as its goal.

Next came the practical "butcher block”, a sturdy worktable made from solid wood that was placed in the center of the room. It became a characteristic bulthaup trademark. One of the milestones in kitchen history was the kitchen workbench, launched onto the market in 1988, which the media heralded as the first real innovation since the Frankfurt kitchen. bulthaup set new standards in 1992 with the introduction of system 25, a flexible system which, with its modules and wealth of installation elements, made virtually any design possible. system 25 turned each kitchen solution simultaneously into a living solution. Thanks to its modernity, functionality and variability, the brand became synonymous with the most advanced idea of architecture in the kitchen living space. A living space in which people eat, drink and communicate. That's why bulthaup calls its furniture range 'communication': korpus and duktus were unveiled in 1994. With the conferring of the Lifetime Achievement Award and the European Design Prize for 1997, the European Commission honored the company's overall achievements and confirmed bulthaup's role as the industry's pacesetter. A further innovative highpoint is the bulthaup system 20 (1997). Its mobile functional elements provide scope for spontaneous design decisions. Modern society's demands for mobility were thus anticipated way ahead of their time.

In 2000, with the "architecture of the kitchen”, bulthaup established a product range on the market that built on the foundations of system 25. It offered customers the ability to create unmistakable living spaces using sculpturally and functionally designed kitchen furniture that was pared down to the essentials and yet radiated an appealing warmth. In 2004, the company expanded its role as market leader further with the introduction of its new product generation bulthaup b3. It is now possible not just to plan a kitchen based on the floor plan, but more importantly to bring the walls to life. A multi-functional wall, a true innovation in many senses of the word, is the kitchen system's hub and fulcrum, the static base element and the stable skeleton. Units, worktops, hobs and water points, electrical appliances, accessories and even TV screens hang from it. The kitchen's spacious effect is given a sculpted quality as a result. The kitchen's floating and thus extremely lightweight appearance is accentuated by the lightness and clarity of the construction. The materials are as thin as possible and as strong as necessary. bulthaup b3 is a design concept for the entire home and is used by renowned modern architects in their designs for living spaces.

In 2008, the time is right for a new product in the bulthaup family: bulthaup b1 has a fresh look, fresh new advantages and a fresh and appealing price. As a consequence, b1 is geared towards the ever-growing group of people all over the world who appreciate form and quality - people who share bulthaup's values, but have so far been unable or unwilling to afford their own bulthaup kitchen.

Designed as a kitchen with recesses instead of handles, bulthaup b1 consistently focuses on the essentials. The deliberate concentration on just a few basic elements, surface variations and materials fits perfectly with a solution offering practical form and esthetics. With functions created from engineering prowess, b1 has a geometrically clear design - with the interplay between the accentuation of horizontal lines for base units and shelves and the accentuation of vertical lines for tall units and wall units. The feel of solid, striking fronts, the craftsman finish and the carefully-selected materials give b1 a sensuality all of its own. With its concise simplicity, the latest bulthaup system is therefore "the essential kitchen”, comparable only with the finest products to be or have been born of functionalist principles, especially in Scandinavia, Japan, the USA and in Germany's Bauhaus tradition.