HOME & DECOR TheEpochTimes38 junE 20 – juLY 3, 2014

By Ng Ai Hwa

Kitchens were once used solely for cooking, but they are now also used for living. While this

is not a ground-breaking con-cept, it could be relatively new to many homes in Asia where kitchens had been traditionally created as utilitarian spaces to handle choking fumes and cha-otic food preparation.

Nowadays the kitchens are changing, at least so on our island. It has been almost certain when home owners approach us they request for an overhaul of their kitchens, usually fully enclosed, stifling and often dim. The trans-formation happens when the kitchens are opened up to com-bine with other spaces and serve as multiple functions.

The Kitchen Is a Metaphor

The historical purpose of din-ner was never just about eating together, but more about con-necting through conversation and eating. Most of the home own-ers we worked with had either little knowledge in food prepa-ration or were not enthusiastic in cooking, less so in preparing meals on a daily basis. Yet inter-estingly they requested for special attention to the kitchen designs to ensure provision of a ‘proper’ kitchen equipped with modern electrical appliances.

Consciously or subconsciously,

one desires having a kitchen regardless of usage frequency and level of cooking skills. This is because psychologically hav-ing a kitchen in a home is nour-ishing in itself, as it denotes home and hearth. It primarily brings a sense of security and connects one to his livelihood.

Preparing and Sharing Food Is the Communication

We have undertaken many pro-jects when the kitchens overtake the living as the main space for the households. One of the pro-jects we heart is for a family with

three generations under one roof. The brief had a specific request to provide visual connection, good lighting and generous space for the kitchen and dining space. This is because the family spent most of their time conversing with each other in the kitchen and during meals than when they were in the living room.

We designed the kitchen to directly face the dining space. Though separated with an island counter, visual and verbal com-

munication was facilitated with sliding glass panels. The kitchen became well used by the grand-mother for preparing daily food, the mother and daughters for bak-ing cakes together, and the din-ing space for family dinners and social gatherings (refer to Photo 1).

Kitchen as Communal SpaceThe kitchen and dining are

commonly used by young chil-dren working on their home-work. It is interesting to note

that even if children have their own study area and desks, they are often drawn to this fam-ily space for a sense of together-ness with the mother. One of the mothers whom we worked with requested for a study area to be visible from the kitchen so that she could attend to them dur-ing study times. We located the study space to be right beside the kitchen, separated by an island counter which allowed a vis-ual link between the two spaces. We also designed the study to accommodate a workspace for the father. Even though the unit was equipped with a proper din-ing space, the island counter and the study area became the fre-quent lingering spot for the fam-ily, where the mother and her sons would enjoy snacks and tea dur-ing study breaks (refer to Photo 2 and 3).

Food as an Experience and Event

With the current trend where food, celebrity chefs, and star res-taurants are celebrated by our mass media, food becomes not only an obsession but also an alter-nate form of art.

The ritual of dining, the design of meals, and the process of cooking all form a distinctively expressive experience, and more so a sensu-ous one with designated lighting, interior decorations, furniture, the entertainment of music, and so on.

Continued on the next page

In this project, the kitchen no longer served as just a space for food preparation; it was also where entertainment took place.

The Kitchen is theNew Living Room

Courtesy of Atelier M+A

Courtesy of Atelier M+A

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