Storage + Display

One of the most important yet less talked about element that inevitably dominates the amount of space taken up by the kitchen is the storage space. The idea of a pantry was cultivated in medieval times when the food and supplies were stored in specific rooms according to the needs of the items, like the meats were stored in a larder, the alcohol stored in the buttery and the bread was stored in the pantry. This distinguished the idea of storage from the kitchen in a sense that it left the spatial quality to be as clean and free of clutter as possible. The pantry found its location in the middle of the kitchen and the formal dining room that ensured ease of circulation between the three. The pantry also held importance in terms of security of the house and was also at one time guarded by the butler to safeguard from thievery. Although in the later years the concept of storage shifted and incorporated quantities of dishes and cutlery that would become items on display for the guests to see. The cabinets became moments of curating fine crockery and utensils that would lure the guests to the kitchen. The transition of the storage to display is an interesting one as it expanded the idea of locating items in one space while also changing the use of the immediately adjacent space. This resulted in the kitchen becoming an informal meeting area for the ladies in the house These observations help us understand and question the idea of storage, display and organization when it comes to modern day houses that give little importance to the way kitchens are positioned in the house The kitchen holds a strong potential in changing the layout of the entire floorplate and even the structure, creating unexpected crossovers while encouraging community gatherings and neighborliness.

How does kitchen respond to the question of privacy and blurring of boundaries between interior and exterior?

Project : Diener and Diener Architects, Java Island Housing, Amsterdam

A courtyard building and a long house connect the Java Island and the KNSM-island

The size of these structures establish a relationship between the old harbor buildings and those that were added subsequently The simplistic and straightforward form along with its traditional materiality achieves a sense of commitment to the wider continuity and community The courtyard and the ground and seem to have no particular purpose or inter-relationship, but the courtyard works like a tight form, wrapped by a gallery access that holds domestic environments extended in abstract ways by each of the household. The floorplan raises the question of privacy, based on which part of our daily routine and lives are we ready to share with our neighbors and public in general. If a person wants to make himself available visually to the other people in the building, how would he do it? This has been answered by exploring the concept of kitchens on the periphery on a unit plan that negotiates the space in the gallery with the courtyard. Using the role of kitchen and sharing the activities associated with it with the community creates a kind of hierarchy of spaces that creates kitchen as a threshold which is the collective experience of the space. This keeps the bedrooms tucked inside in the plan away from this layer of collectivized environment. The hierarchy of spaces is such that the services are lined along the wrapped gallery, addressing questions of boundary and its nature between the inside and outside. Through a series of continuities and thresholds that extend right into the flat, these strict boundaries are blurred, focusing more on the materiality of sharing and witnessing trust based relationships The crucial part of the planning is the dimension of the bedroom that directs the other elements of the floorplate The building encourages forms of cohabitation independent of traditional family structures 3 The building exudes a character that embraces fluid movement in the depth of the plan

Project: RiffRaff 3&4 by Meili, Peter & Partner & Staufer & Hasler, Berlin

The expansion of RiffRaff 1&2 to RiffRaff 3&4 is located in the central city environment of Zurich , a strong example of typological intensification that retains the existing morphology By virtue of gaining space and functionality in the pre-existing setting, the project provides a richer urban life and aims at developing the expanded dwellings What is interesting is in the way it deals with the concept of kitchens

Unlike the usual norm, it challenges the notion of situating kitchens in the core of the floorplan. Instead, it pushes the kitchen sink and the bathroom sink all near the window. This achieves freedom in the depth of the space, which also allows the unit to pull back from the life of the city around. This sort of internal layout helps in generated of depth through modification in the configurations. It creates a new personal experience while someone is using the kitchen sink, combining the visual and functional attributes of the space. When one is washing vegetables, one can look outside the window, a quick moment of washing one’s hand is complimented by the quick peek outside the window to indulge in the life beyond. Through an open bath without toilet, a second path is set up through the apartment, interweaving the kitchen with the living room.4

The large windows seem to magnify the urban scenery as they draw it into the living room. The conscious decision to put the plumbing right at the edge makes the kitchen get tucked into the space freeing up the space. One is drawn directly into the depth of the plan. This also leads to the idea of creating active facades, making them points of interaction and shared experiences The extensions to the wider urban landscape helps it work better in both the conditions of facing into the inner courtyard as well as the street while maintaining the inner integrity of the floorplan

The concept of getting long lines extended diagonals through the length of the plan is achieved in this as discussed in the Case study Houses 5