Technicalization
|
|
The idea of standardized dimensions and layout developed for the
Frankfurt kitchen took hold. The equipment used remained a standard
for years to come: hot and cold water on tap and a kitchen sink and
an electrical or gas stove and oven. Not much later, the
refrigerator was added as a standard item. The concept was refined
in the "Swedish kitchen" using unit furniture with wooden fronts for
the kitchen cabinets. Soon the concept was amended by the use of
smooth synthetic door and drawer fronts, first in white, recalling a
sense of cleanliness and alluding to sterile lab or hospital
settings, but soon after in lively, friendly colors, too. A trend
began in the 1940s in the United States to equip the kitchen with
electrified small and large kitchen appliances such as blenders,
toasters, and later also microwave ovens. Following the end of World
War II, massive demand in Europe for low-price, high-tech consumer
goods led to Western European kitchens being designed to accommodate
new appliances such as refrigerators and electric/gas cookers. |
Parallel to this development in tenement buildings went the
evolution of the kitchen in homeowner's houses. There, the kitchens
usually were somewhat larger, suitable for everyday use as a dining
room, but otherwise the ongoing technicalization was the same, and
the use of unit furniture became a standard also in this market
sector.
General technocentric enthusiasm even led some designers to take the
"work kitchen" approach even further, culminating in futuristic
designs like Luigi Colani's "kitchen satellite" (1969, commissioned
by the German high-end kitchen manufacturer Poggenpohl for an
exhibit), in which the room was reduced to a ball with a chair in
the middle and all appliances at arm's length, an optimal
arrangement maybe for "applying heat to food", but not necessarily
for actual cooking. Such extravaganzas remained outside the norm,
though.
In the former Eastern bloc countries, the official doctrine viewed
cooking as a mere necessity, and women should work "for the society"
in factories, not at home. Also, housing had to be built at low
costs and quickly, which led directly to the standardized apartment
block using prefabricated slabs. The kitchen was reduced to the max
and the "work kitchen" paradigm taken to its extremes: in East
Germany for instance, the standard tenement block of the model "P2"
had tiny 4 mē kitchens in the inside of the building (no windows),
connected to the dining and living room of the 55 mē apartment and
separated from the latter by a pass-through or a window.
Starting in the 1980s, the perfection of the extractor hood allowed
an open kitchen again, integrated more or less with the living room
without causing the whole apartment or house to smell. Before that,
only a few earlier experiments, typically in newly built upper
middle class family homes, had open kitchens. Examples are Frank
Lloyd Wright's House Willey (1934) and House Jacobs (1936). Both had
open kitchens, with high ceilings (up to the roof) and were aired by
skylights. The extractor hood made it possible to build open
kitchens in apartments, too, where both high ceilings and skylights
were not possible.
The re-integration of the kitchen and the living area went hand in
hand with a change in the perception of cooking: increasingly,
cooking was seen as a creative and sometimes social act instead of
work, especially in upper social classes. Besides, many families
also appreciated the trend towards open kitchens, as it made it
easier for the parents to supervise the kids while cooking. The
enhanced status of cooking also made the kitchen a prestige object
for showing off one's wealth or cooking professionalism. Some
architects have capitalized on this "object" aspect of the kitchen
by designing freestanding "kitchen objects". However, like their
precursor, Colani's "kitchen satellite", such futuristic designs are
exceptions.
Another reason for the trend back to open kitchens (and a foundation
of the "kitchen object" philosophy) is changes in how food is
prepared. Whereas in the 1950s most cooking started out with raw
ingredients and a meal had to be prepared for real, the advent of
frozen meals and pre-prepared convenience food changed the cooking
habits of many people, who consequently used the kitchen less and
less. For others, who followed the "cooking as a social act" trend,
the open kitchen had the advantage that they could be with their
guests while cooking, and for the "creative cooks" it might even
become a stage for their cooking performance.
A refrigerator (often shortened to fridge) is an electrical or gas
appliance that uses refrigeration to help preserve food. A domestic
refrigerator is present in 99.5% of American homes. It works using
phase change heat pumps operating in a refrigeration cycle. An
industrial refrigerator is simply a refrigerator used in an
industrial setting, usually in a restaurant or supermarket.
They may consist of either a cooling compartment only (a larger
refrigerator) or a freezing compartment only (a freezer) or contain
both. The dual compartment was introduced commercially by General
Electric in 1939. Some refrigerators are now divided into four zones
for the storage of different types of food:
-18C (0F) (freezer)
0C (32F) (meats)
4C (40F) (refrigerator)
10C (50F) (vegetables)
The capacity of a refrigerator is measured in litres (or cubic
feet). Typically the freezer volume is 100 litres (this will vary)
and the refrigerator 140 litres. |
 |
|
Nofeerentals.com Apartment rental NY NYC, Rental apartments in New York city Nofeerentals.com has rental apartments and provides no fee apartment rental in downtown Manhattan New York City near New York University and all Manhattan http://www.nofeerentals.com/index.asp
Notasinc.com Window Balconies, hand made carved wood balconies These handicrafts are a beautifully hand made wood balconies, crafted by in Colombia by artisans with quality materials and a distinct original design. The Wood is used in every part of each piece, including the individually carved roof tiles. http://www.notasinc.com/window_balconies.htm
Microsoft Gold
certified Partner Cisco authorized reseller HP Business partner
Microsoft Gold certified Partner Cisco authorized reseller HP Business partner
Microsoft small business specialist
http://www.lansend.com/partners.aspx
Garden apartment for sale In Kew Garden Hills New York NO BROKER FEE
Garden apartment for sale In Kew Garden Hill, Queens , Jamiaca New York NO BROKER FEE
http://www.parkway-village.com
|