KBB - November/December 2012 - (Page 58)

OPINION Intelligence or Beauty? Designing “green” calls for equal helpings of both Superfoods, eating in the raw, gluten-free, the Paleo diet—wherever you look, publications and conversations are peppered with new ideas about eating. A genuine food movement appears to be afoot. If it’s a topic you’re not yet discussing with your clients, now is the perfect time to begin. Ask and you’ll find a rich and diverse response. Baby boomers are fixated on health and longevity, and new parents on the purity of their children’s food supply. Locavores are planting kitchen gardens, and farmers markets and farm box programs are moving in. Collectively, we are rediscovering a biological imperative our grandmothers knew all along—we are what we eat. (known as “choice architecture”), and you can begin to envision the opportunities for kitchen designers to affect positive change. It prompts the question: If kitchen use has historically been in decline, how do designers reverse the trend? By equally prioritizing intelligence and beauty, and focusing on the primary objective of improving health. A modern kitchen must be smarter by design. It should surpass “Green 1.0”—a baseline that includes use of eco-intelligent materials, FSC woods and energy-efficient appliances—and go further by providing a total design solution, one that eases the preparation of foods and actively meets users’ health and wellness goals head-on. Cooking, and Cooktop modules (above left) allow you to customize a cooktop to your client’s needs, eliminating features they may never use. Steam ovens (above right) and in-counter steamers simplify healthy cooking. Photography: © Brent Haywood, Brent Haywood Photography; Designer: Lisa Wilson-Wirth, ckd, Wilson-Wirth Design KITCHEN USAGE AND HEALTH The past 25 years weren’t always as considered when it came to attitudes toward food, cooking and the role of the kitchen in the home. A review of projects from the 1980s and ’90s shows consumer affection for kitchens where aesthetic “beauty” was oftentimes the sole consideration. A sharp rise in kitchen size and expense was ironically accompanied by a substantive decline in clients’ actual use of the kitchen. Today, the medical community has made a direct connection between food choices and health. Research indicates cooking and eating at home leads to better health and reduced illness. Couple this with behavioral research, which illustrates a direct correlation between consumer decision-making and how choices are presented cooking often, is at the soul of the modern kitchen. And designers must purposefully evaluate each component as it relates to these goals. Healthy kitchens address each of these design objectives: increased frequency of cooking, support for health and wellness goals and easier and more efficient solutions to common tasks. When we’re successful in meeting these goals, kitchen-remodeling expenditure transitions from a discretionary expense to a valued investment in clients’ health—a winning prescription. There are a number of components to achieving a successful design, including: • Reworking the traditional triangle in favor of customized work zones • Rethinking what a kitchen looks like and its architectural placement 58 + K BB November/December 2012 / www.kbbonline.com / The Official Sponsor of KBIS www.kbis.com http://www.kbbonline.com http://www.kbis.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of KBB - November/December 2012

KBB - November/December 2012
Contents
Online Contents
Editorial
Show Director’s Note
KBIS Special Section
Web Savvy
Trends
2012 K+BB Product Innovator Awards
Products
Design
Opinion
Ad Index
Favorites

KBB - November/December 2012