Designed by Hong Kong based architectural studio napp studio, Courtyard Kitchen strives to propose the kitchen as a ‘mini home’ within the apartment. Napp Studio wishes to propagate the enjoyment of high quality of family time through cooking and celebrate kitchen as a central family space instead of merely a tiny supporting facility as in most cases in Hong Kong apartments.
Courtyard Kitchen was selected as one of the winners of the Mia Cucina (Kitchen by Towngas) x Archiparti Reinventing Kitchen Design Contest, which attracted over a hundred submission, and is currently under construction that is expected to be completed in December this year for their showroom collection.
. Concept
While dining has always been considered, if not the most, fundamental element in any families’ gathering, cooking often was considered less important in that respect but a ‘back-office’ job for wives.
Along with the recently regained popularity of home-cooking due to health values, as well the availability of internet broadcasting media, we question if cooking can also be seen as an essential family- bonding activity, hence kitchen as the centrality of a home - ‘the family within a family’.
. Spatial Composition
Inspired by one of the most commonly understood icon of a Chinese ‘family’ - Siheyuan, we took the motif of its spatial composition organising the kitchen as a miniature Siheyuan.
Composed of the 4 essential operation blocks - Cleanse, Cook, Store and Dine, with a line of full height cabinets and fridge and freezer along the wall, the kitchen presents itself with a central ‘courtyard’ space surrounded by operation blocks linked by clear circulation.
The block of Dine, in particular, is composed of elements infused with the other 3 being able to be flipped out when used. The kitchen encloses itself as an autonomous quarter when flipped out for dining, while becomes extrovert and merges with the living room, if not inviting people to use, when flipped in.
. Operation
Cooking is mainly done at the corner between the Cleanse and Cook for best efficiency and away from the window to avoid dirt and grease. The cooking can also be carried out on the other side of the blocks to overlook the children when they are helping in the ‘courtyard’ or just the view outside.
While the worktop is of normal bench height (900mmH) which might be too tall for children, the dining table could be flipped out to offer an alternative lower worktop more suitable for kids as well to confine their work area for parents to look after.
. Materiality
Each of the operation block, besides of their distinguished functions, is assigned to a specific materials suiting it’s particular function.
Cleanse - White corian top with white gloss painted plywood joinery. Whiteness not only strikes as image of cleanliness but also that dirt and grease could be easily identifiable and wiped.
Cook - Black hairline steel top with black matt painted plywood joinery. Merging the colours and finishing of stove and ovens while also presenting as a formidable block keeping the children away from.
Store - Green marble top with olive green semi-transparent acrylic joinery. The limited transparency allows easy search for utensils and ingredients stored in the cabinets while still maintaining a level of concealment.
Dine - Birch veneered plywood joinery. Elements infused into the other 3 blocks, the distinguishable birch finishes offer a warm and natural welcome to sit and dine on.
Full Cabinets - Oak veneered plywood joinery. Built-in fridge and freezer cladded with same oak finishes as well as the structural beam above, an almost invisible natural hideaway merged with the walls.