The Prefabricated Kitchen: Substance and Surface

Abstract

ABSTRACTThough much attention has been given to the architecture of the prefabricated house, little has been devoted to the discussion of the prefabricated interior environment. Many discussions have centered on the notion of the house as a “machine for living,” but it is the kitchen, a room that epitomizes the profession of interior design, that stakes the greatest claim to such automation. The prefabrication of the kitchen arose from the ever-present desire to attain efficiency and accommodate individual user needs, requirements, and preferences. Driven by the need for efficiency and within the context of continued industrialized invention—including every conceivable element for making the processing of food easier, such as, for example, computerization—the kitchen historically has served as an ideal laboratory for the investigation into interior prefabrication.