The Frankfurt Kitchen
citylab.com
The Frankfurt Kitchen
1–10 of 22 posts
Re: The Frankfurt Kitchen
#2previously discussed here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18013286
Re: The Frankfurt Kitchen
#3Nice :) Tomorrow, I am visiting a potential new home which has the original Frankfurt Kitchen architecture (not the original appliances), from the original architect (Ernst May). While the house is 90 years old, it has been well kept to the point that most people think it is quite new.
Re: The Frankfurt Kitchen
#4previously discussed here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18013286
Great find. Since the OP is a new and interesting article, and Frankfurt kitchens (who had heard of them?) are not at high risk of being overcovered on HN, I think we'll not treat this post as a dupe.
Re: The Frankfurt Kitchen
#5Do people find that time spent in motion or moving between tasks is ever the determining factor of how quickly or effectively you can prepare a meal in the context of a home kitchen? Granted, I've rarely cooked for more than ~4 people, I've never stopped and thought "wow, if only the cupboard with x in it were a few feet closer to the stove, I could have cut three minutes off my prep work."
It's unclear to me how Taylorism could have been applied in a transformative way to kitchen layout.
Re: The Frankfurt Kitchen
#6Do people find that time spent in motion or moving between tasks is ever the determining factor of how quickly or effectively you can prepare a meal in the context of a home kitchen? Granted, I've rarely cooked for more than ~4 people, I've never stopped and thought "wow, if only the cupboard with x in it were a few feet closer to the stove, I could have cut three minutes off my prep work." It's unclear to me how Tay…
I think when you're cooking for the two thousandth time and trying to prepare multiple recipes simultaneously & time them together, you start to have an interest in efficiency. I've definitely burned things because I took a minute or two longer than I had to spare working on another dish. The better the kitchen is laid out, the more simultaneous multithreads I can run before I miss an interrupt...
Part of the point of this article is also that the kitchen you take for granted, even one that isn't especially Taylorized, is still a sea change vs only a century ago.
Re: The Frankfurt Kitchen
#7You could even have your own!
https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/storage-case-pieces/cupboa...
Re: The Frankfurt Kitchen
#8I usually interpret a "dream" kitchen like the one shown in the article as evidence that a person doesn't really like cooking. I just don't get how somebody can cook frequently and even semi-seriously and have the fridge, sink, and stove all two or three yards apart. I would think most people who dig cooking would take a Frankfurt kitchen with decent appliances over a huge, airy space with great appliances.
My current setup is like a galley kitchen except one wall is missing and opens onto the main living room, so I can prep or do dishes while talking to people. Maybe people more sensitive to cooking smells disagree, but I think kitchens are best when they aren't separate rooms.
Re: The Frankfurt Kitchen
#9Typical architect opinion on a room. An entire article about household kitchens without a single mention of what they actually do: cook food.
Our kitchens have evolved with our foods. The 1950's taste for boiled whole vegetables and large roasts worked well in tiny kitchens. You didn't need much space for prep. The large and segmented cabinets organized everything out of sight because that made things look more clean.
Modern tastes require more prep space. More countertop for chopping vegetables. Enough room so you aren't slicing chicken breasts in the same area you are prepping the salad. Kitchens are also no longer the domain of the housewife. It is normal for multiple people to use a kitchen. So we need more space and better visibility. Cabinets have been replaced with shelves, or glass doors, because the person cooking is no longer always the person that does the shopping.
Stainless steel and better container tech means we are no longer ashamed of our kitchen utensils. We don't hide rusty pots or knives away in cabinets. We hang them proudly on hooks.
Re: The Frankfurt Kitchen
#10Typical architect opinion on a room. An entire article about household kitchens without a single mention of what they actually do: cook food. Our kitchens have evolved with our foods. The 1950's taste for boiled whole vegetables and large roasts worked well in tiny kitchens. You didn't need much space for prep. The large and segmented cabinets organized everything out of sight because that made things look more clean…
I don't mind a spacious kitchen as long as the space is well utilized.
For many families, the kitchen has all but replaced the living room. Where does everyone gather in the morning for quick sandwiches before they all go off to work or school? The large table in the middle of the kitchen. Where does everyone gather again in the evening to eat supper and/or discuss any common business? The same table. Where do the kids do their homework? The table. Where do the parents check their email? The table. Where do we stick all the checklists and important bills? The fridge. Where are my clothes? The washer-dryer combo right next to the kitchen.
There's no reason not to use the kitchen as the default gathering space since everyone (not just the housewife) is already there; a gathering is more fun when there's food and drink; and as you mentioned, the kitchen can actually look good these days.
Suburban houses waste a lot of space, sure, but the kitchen is far from the worst offender. If I were designing a new house, I might as well eliminate the living room and put a huge kitchen/dining area in the center instead, leaving only a small den to use as the home theater.