The Functional Kitchen
June 29, 2021
By Remona Divekar
Sunil Patil, Principal Architect, Sunil Patil & Associates believes in having a communicative, open, interactive and functional kitchen, connected to the whole house, that’s what he tries to put forth through this project ‘The Long House’.
Minimalism has long been the mantra for a while for spaces with clean lines, pared-down forms and no-frills design. ‘Less is more’ is a way of life that celebrates a simple, clutter-free existence in this kitchen project ‘Long House’ based out of Pune. With the right amount of aesthetics, it is possible to fuse aesthetics with functionality. This kitchen is the perfect blend of modern minimalism and Indian sensibilities, thanks to some creative thinking and smart tweaks by the architect.
The Concept
The kitchen featured in this Long House Project manages to not only incorporate the necessary appliances and seating that is required in a kitchen, without compromising on the functionality but also to ensure that each space is imbued with its own sense of style. The idea was to keep it simple and functional. People are increasingly leaning towards modern and engaging kitchens that can accommodate their needs. Unlike earlier days when kitchens were used for cooking purpose only, these days they have become multi-functional such as the breakfast corner, barbecue centre, lunch and dinner for many families and thus, they need to be aesthetically pleasing as well as more functional.
Long House is in Viman Nagar, near Pune Airport. It belongs to a business family. “The house is designed according to the plot, if you see the geometry of the house the form of the plot is vertically long, that is why it is called a Long House,” says the architect. The plot is about 7,000 sq ft and has consumed FSI 1 again the built-up is almost the same. In addition, it has a basement, parking, and servant’s quarters so the built-up would be around 8,000 sq ft.
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A breakfast table with a yellow frame enhances the look and feel of this open kitchen.
The Design
Briefing about this particular kitchen project, Patil says, “This kitchen played an integral role in overall connectivity of the house where the concept of the kitchen was not different from the house. With minimalist cabinetry, neutral colour palettes and metallic accents, this contemporary kitchen has a subtle elegance that will never go out of style. It blends aspects of modern design with other styles, including traditional and contemporary look that is sleek but not sterile.”
On the design brief, he says, “The basic brief was for a nuclear family of parents and two children. The son is staying here and the daughter is studying in the US. Clients wanted to have the ultra-modern house fully automated, having these sonic control systems. For instance, they want to order something through voice command.”
Layout
There is a certain myth associated with the open kitchens that they are rather hard to maintain, the reason being open. They are easily visible and require proper maintenance and regular cleaning but the benefit is that they can be easily assimilated into other areas of the home. Open kitchens are instrumental in bonding between the people in the kitchen and dining.
The kitchen space is around 15 ft x 16 ft and compared to dining it looks small, but the architect believes it is quite a good size for the kitchen. This kitchen is an open kitchen, open for bonding within the family with no partition in between the kitchen and dining with a buffer zone. A breakfast table with a yellow frame provides the look and feel of the space, well ventilated with natural lights and windows that prove to be an integral part of the kitchen. As far as the natural lights and ventilation are concerned there is ample of that.
The flooring is quite neutral in colour with shades of grey. It was designed in such a way that it looks like a part of dining; it compliments the overall ambience of the kitchen area. To the left of the dining area is a canvas painting part of the kitchen that is rotating. These frames are altogether 9x9 in different canvas paintings, changeable and configured. It complements the decor of the dining room.
Lighting
The kitchen, being the busiest area inside the house, should have enough light that lights up during the day as well as later in the night. Task lighting provides lighting on and above the work area used on the tabletop where maximum work is carried out, placed right above the gas stove. Also, indirect lighting is used, concealed at many places and whatever points you see it open which are not indirect LED, merged with the ceilings.
As far as the natural lights and ventilation are concerned there is ample of that. Ambient lighting is installed which illuminates the entire kitchen area. This should be one or a pair of two, which can light up the entire space used when no particular task is being carried out when dining inside the kitchen. White lights are preferred for the kitchens instead of the yellow ones, installing switches right next to the door of the kitchen. It is important to decide and finalise the lighting ahead of time because the wiring should be done before the cabinets are put up.
This kitchen project is ultra-modern, design-wise and material-wise where the platform and the cooking range with a yellow frame provide a counter for the breakfast table, which holds two chimneys in the circular form in stainless steel. Overall this kitchen was expected to be very high-tech, modern kitchens in looks as well as in operations. Simple, natural light cuts down on the need for artificial illumination and therefore it saves energy.
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Colour Selection
The kitchen material had to look at the durability aspect because in-built kitchens are the way it is been cooked, what is been cooked and where it needs to be rough in terms of handling. Therefore a kitchen platform in Caesarstone from Hafele is used which is a white material coarse, artificial and scratch-resistant. A bold yellow colour is used for the frame keeping the rest of the things neutral, white, grey, or black, so the entire focus is on the yellow frame. The rest of the things are in a neutral colour, the platform is white, and the cabins are black and grey. Storage for the entire house is grey and it is a rustic thing. The kitchen and dining create a continuous space separated by the bold element – a yellow breakfast table. The bold colour is balanced with grey and white kitchen. The long window running through the dining and kitchen allows connection with the outdoor.
The architect says, “I did not want the cooking top to stand out from the platform so it merges with the way we have designed the cooking platform, counter, it conceals that kitchen top from the dining area. What you see from the dining is the deep yellow frame and vertical chimney suspended from the ceiling.”
The most challenging part in India for any kitchen is keeping up with the kitchen maintenance and the architects really have worked on something that is carefree, operated by all kind of people in the house, servants, the lady of the house and others. “The challenge was how we can design a kitchen which is compatible to both the house lady the woman of the house and the servants or the maids who will be doing the rough use of that and that’s how we use the materials of the house. They complete the kitchens. Actually, kitchen is where some parts are laminated as well as done with metal, which is completely maintenance-free” explains Patil.
What Sets the Kitchen Apart?
Installing the cylindrical chimneys above the kitchen platform looks unique; the architect says most of the time the clients were reluctant to use different things like the chimneys in the kitchen. The chimneys actually become part of their aesthetics that are very simple made from the cast and have this very simple model stainless steel cylinder and one horizontal glass holding it together. I was impressed by the design and it is the iron chimney that serves the purpose looks like the part of the kitchen avers Patil.
Patil says, “While we look at aesthetics of the modern kitchens one cannot forget the basic process of the work triangle that follows in the kitchen, the refrigeration, the cooking range that is how the kitchen functionality works. Kitchen accessories such as the sink, cabinets, walls and cutting platform have to be smooth and functional that is the most important thing for an articulate kitchen. If it is not functional, it is not going to work.”
He adds when we look at the functionality of the kitchen it depends on what functions are nearby, the cabinets, the cutting platform should have relative things, which are required for the particular kitchen activity. Near sink, we should also have the relative things which are required for the washing activity.” We believe in interactive kitchen and our kitchen designs never fade. Simple and elegant kitchens bring a well-organised aspect of the kitchen for effective cooking.
"With minimalist cabinetry, neutral colour palettes and metallic accents, this contemporary kitchen has a subtle elegance that will never go out of style. It blends aspects of modern design with other styles, including traditional and contemporary look that is sleek but not sterile."
Sunil Patil
Principal Architect
Sunil Patil & Associates
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