beyond the kitchen table.

second semester of third year kicked off with the RSA Student Design Awards brief “Beyond the Kitchen Table”. I started by looking into co-living as a central design concern for my submission. The way we live as a generation is changing and with it so are the needs of the home. Rising housing costs and paying dead money to landlords means that millennials are struggling to get a foot onto the property ladder, seeing a rise in those choosing to live a co-living lifestyle. Is communal living our future? How does this affect the kitchen?

This research into shared living, aided especially by the IMAGINE publication by Space 10 helped me to finally settle on a final direction for this project, focussing on an individual work station for each resident of a co living space to give everyone a space they feel responsible for without getting in each other’s way.

First iteration of my co-living design project in which I am designing a space that captures the balance between individual ownership and community in one space. The problem most co living spaces seem to run into is creating a place where everyone cleans up after themselves and takes ownership of a space shared by so many. My design is intended to give the residents their own ‘preparation stations’ that contain everything they need to make their own meal. These stations can be positioned alone or joined together for those who wish to collaborate through cooking. This flexibility will hopefully encourage this harmony between each individual and the community they are part of.

the final project.