Food preparation is becoming increasingly important in ecological homes. Wherever your food comes from, being able to process and store it efficiently and well is key, not only to our health but to our sense of connection with the natural world. From this point of view, a house and its garden should be considered as a whole. The kitchen is just one aspect of the flow and interaction of food, people and equipment in the home. In the solar courtyard house, a terraced garden, a cold storage room, a greenhouse "wet room", a masonry bread hearth and a grilling station are as much of the food system as the kitchen. (Click on the images to enlarge.)

In this context, a kitchen ideally wants to be small enough for people to move about efficiently, and to minimize material and equipment costs, but also accommodating and flexible enough to serve a variety of functions, including being a social center for the home. Building on my own analysis and experience as a designer and a parent, as well as taking cues from some leading kitchen innovators of the day, the kitchen features a single, 12’-long stainless steel work counter with an extra-wide, commercial-style sink and a cooktop consisting of a single row of four burners. A narrow but useful work surface runs along the entire length.

What makes this counter special? A wide sink (44”) means that multiple wet functions can take place at the same time, even if that involves handling things like a 3-foot long celery stick, a peck of just-picked apples or a large, dirty pan. A single-row cooktop means that all four burners become useful, and safer for not having to always be reached over. Even more important, it enables two people—or more—to work comfortably side-by-side with simultaneous access to everything they need, even in a relatively small space. Both the counter and the sliding trays and shelves above and below are supported by a Rakks storage system that can be flexibly configured both for personal and Universal Design considerations, and stainless-steel shelf rods from Ikea are incorporated to make wet-proof storage shelves where washed items can be directly placed to dry.

Having one equipment-intensive counter means that the other, island counter remains unencumbered, ready to use for activities such as preparing pastries, packaging food for freezing, casual eating and hanging out. With adjustable-height wheeled legs and wired with a corded outlet, the table can be moved about, even bridging the 1-foot level change between the kitchen and living area to serve meals like teppanyaki (table cooking on a griddle).

Other useful features of the kitchen include a floor-to ceiling pantry and a Miele speed oven that combines microwave and oven technology to significantly reduce cooking times and energy use. Finally, with the space opening out to the courtyard through slide-away glass doors, the courtyard itself becomes a work and hang-out space that serves the kitchen.