Thermador was the first brand to separate the oven and cooktop, making it a popular appliance brand for Eichler homes in the '50s and '60s.

Thermador has its design roots in Californian architecture of the 1950s and ’60s that still influences contemporary architecture today. The iconic Eichler homes — famous for their innovative floor plans, unique use of materials and integration of inside and outside spaces — used the first Thermador ovens and cooktops.

Thermador created the first built-in wall oven.

Eichler homes were designed in a style of architecture that has come to be known as “California Modern.” The style introduced innovations in architecture such as “bringing the outside in” by using large skylights and full glass walls, exposed beam construction and concrete slab floors with integrated radiant heating. Thermador built-in ovens and cooktops were also chosen for so many of the Eichler homes because the separation of the two appliances allowed for a more open kitchen floor plan — with the cooktop often being built into an island overlooking the living room. Thermador was the first brand to separate the oven and cooktop.

Thermador still follows these same design principles of innovation and form-following-function that caused them to be used in the Eichler homes. As Thermador’s separated built-in oven and cooktop changed the landscape of the kitchen in the ’50s and ’60s, today the Thermador Freedom Refrigeration Columns with individual compressors allow the refrigeration, freezer and wine storage to be placed freely in the kitchen.    The Thermador Star Burner is perhaps the best example of form-following-function; the unique star shape gives greater heating distribution and cooking performance than the average round burner.