In the quest to industrialize building construction, dwelling functions have been analyzed, examined and explored as potential integrated subassemblies to be mass-produced and assembled into entire edifices. Bathroom pods, service cores and kitchens in particular have been theorized since the beginning of the twentieth century as building systems and elements conducive for applying manufacturing methods developed in parallel industries. The kitchen benefitted from this industrial product perspective and has become a modularized and highly industrialized manufactured component of any home; Today, Cabinets are never really built-on site but arrive in simple to install kits and have even been furthered by industry specific software streamlining the design to market process.
The rich heritage of the modular kitchen owes its industrial legacy to architect Margarette Shütte-Lihotsky. Her work on the Frankfurt Kitchen designed as part of Ernst May's New Frankfurt social housing planning and construction project was envisaged as an efficient machine for cooking and spawned the laboratory kitchen associated with modernity in architecture. Nearly 100 years later, the kitchen still fascinates as an integrated device to promote healthy living. Another Austrian Architect, Ivana Steiner, has designed a kitchen with sustainability in mind. The simple linear kitchen organization facilitates its integration in any space but is planned as an island type dissociated from wall elements, it is proposed as a central element. Contrary to the Frankfurt kitchen this spatial interpretation invites the idea that the kitchen is no longer simply a machine, but a space for socialization as well as production.
The prism 4m long x 0,6m wide x 0,9m high combines recycled stainless steel and glass for all of its components. Each part of the kitchen makes an ecological statement questioning elements like overpackaging, proposing bulk purchases, and facilitating composting. For the longest time our kitchens have been passive elements for creating waste; the zero-waste kitchen houses an herb growing garden showcasing how housing components can be an active part of the home’s ecosystem. The linear modular unit uses recycled steel and glass to argue for low-emission building and durability of materials. Designed to teach and educate like the Frankfurt kitchen, the zero-waste kitchen updates the machine for cooking to a device for eco-friendly living.
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| Frankfurt kitchen (left); Zero waste kitchen (right) |
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