Should the Kitchen be Age and Gender-Neutral?

Nitin Saolapurkar, Principal Partner, Saolapurkar and Associates talks about age and gender-neutral kitchen design while highlighting the need for a further breakdown of standardised sizes and capacities of appliances

In metros, kitchens are largely getting gender-neutral with families getting nuclear. In families where both the husband and the wife are working, the husband also has to develop as much skill in cooking as the lady of the house. Now, the kitchen also needs to become age neutral. The kitchen should be designed for elderly people also. The conveniences of gadgetry will certainly aid them. But the level of the platform and the surface also matter. A variable height platform would be really convenient.

In my opinion, one thing that the appliance makers need to look at is the further breakdown of the standardised sizes and capacities of various appliances. For instance, washing machines and dishwashers are available in some standard sizes which don’t often fit into a smaller compact kitchen. Therefore, more options in terms of appliance sizes, heights etc are required. The kitchens must have all the necessary gadgets. But the next phase of innovation in the kitchen would be convenience driven by gadgets. Automating a lot of the cooking process will happen.

[Edited Excerpts from a Round Table Discussion on ‘Shifting Kitchen Design Trends: A Result of Changing Lifestyle’ held at JW Marriott, Bengaluru as part of Crompton presents Kitchens Unplugged powered by Kitchen Ideas.]