Kitchen Design – Energy and Health in the Eyes of the Beholder

This paper is about kitchen design and cooking activities including health- and energy-related issues. The kitchen environment is often neglected today in human settlements in developing countries. The kitchen seems to suffer from low status. This article is mainly based on research carried out in urban settings in Vietnam but it also embraces kitchen design in other countries. The kitchen area is a complex environment with the culinary activity chain as its main function. This process is a flow of activities and sub-systems, which relate to each other in several ways within the kitchen area. The kitchen in use is studied and the kitchen has not necessarily any physical boundaries, which means that this work addresses the “kitchen beyond walls”. Kitchen design is addressed in relation to key aspects such as functions of the kitchen and activities carried out in it, the cooking process, indoor climate, cultural influences, and health impacts of these aspects. Research has been carried out through experiments and modeling in full scale (the Twin dwelling), computer simulations, water tunnel tests, and field studies. The research mainly took place in Sweden and Vietnam. Prototypes on smoke evacuation devices and stoves as well as demonstration buildings were important tools for design. Finally, design criteria are developed on the basis of pillars in the building regulations such as health and hygiene, safety, comfort and energy efficiency. These design criteria have been used in various countries with different kitchen cultures to formulate guidelines for kitchens. Design criteria formats are presented in the tables. Improving kitchens is a concept that draws on rigorous scientific research in combination with participatory and grassroots approaches to implementation. It is an innovative platform for inter-sectoral action and multidisciplinary research, forging links and partnerships in areas which may not conventionally be perceived as fellow-travelers. Bad kitchens are also an equity issue.