'Kitchenless City: Architectural Systems for Social Welfare' is a research and design project by Anna Puigjaner and her associates at MAIO Studio, a Barcelona-based architecture firm. The project recently won the Wheelwright Prize, a prestigious award from Harvard University that emphasizes the confluence of research and action.
As the name suggests, the core of Kitchenless City's proposal is to build housing units without kitchens. To be sure, the houses in the Kitchenless City proposal would still have areas for cooking in the form of kitchenettes or "breakfast bars," but by removing a separate room for the kitchen, the houses gain square footage that is becoming increasingly valuable in continually densifying urban areas.
Puigjaner is not one to talk the talk without walking the walk, claiming that her current residence only has a tiny, 1.2 meter long kitchen.
Kitchenless Communal Living Concepts
'Kitchenless City' Won the Prestigious Wheelwright Prize
Trend Themes
1. Kitchenless Housing Units - Creating housing units that do not have separate rooms for kitchens.
2. Densifying Urban Areas - Increasing urban density by utilizing square footage gained from eliminating separate kitchens.
3. Social Welfare Architecture - Architectural designs that contribute to social welfare by rethinking traditional housing layouts.
Industry Implications
1. Real Estate - Innovating in Real Estate by designing and building modern apartments without traditional kitchens.
2. Architecture - Introducing a new trend in the Architecture industry by rethinking traditional housing layouts.
3. Urban Development - Revolutionizing urban development by creating denser living spaces that are more conscious of resource utilization.