Designing a Compact Kitchen for the Younger Generation vis-à-vis the Older Generation

Lalita Tharani, Co-founder & Principal Architect, Collaborative Architecture talks about how designing a compact kitchen for the younger generation varies from the older generation

The land being costly, the apartment in the city is getting compact which means the kitchen space too gets smaller. This makes a small yet compact kitchen which facilitates fitting in gadgets and appliances without cluttering the space vital.

Lalita Tharani, Co-founder & Principal Architect, Collaborative Architecture adds, “Today’s kitchen design is quite different than what we used to design 15-20 years ago. In the studio apartments, the younger generation aspires to go more modern, minimalistic and high-tech. The gadgets and appliances to be used have to be the new age ones which are multifunctional. For example, a sink that closes out and becomes a counter and opens up when we need to use the sink is useful. So we can have more space to work with.”

Talking about storage in a compact kitchen, Lalita shares, “Families in the traditional household want to store grains and masalas for about a year. So, we have to make space for storage literally anywhere possible; for example, storage in the ceiling or the passages. The kitchen storage is extending outside the kitchen.”

[Edited Excerpts from a Round Table Discussion on ‘Compact Kitchens’ held at Four Seasons Hotel, Worli, Mumbai as part of Crompton presents Kitchens Unplugged powered by Kitchen Ideas.]