boards.Aluminiumdrawersprovidedspace
for dried goods and pulled out for easy pouring.
Kitchensmighthavechanged–wenowthink
of them as spaces for “relaxing, company and
pleasures” too – but we still take many of
Schütte-Lihotzky’s ideas for granted. Our
fitted kitchens are ergonomically designed
aroundthetasksweusethemfor–andwho
doesn’t dream of labelled containers for
everything from rice to sugar?THE AUTOMATED HOUSE
Everythingatthetouchofabutton
“Welcometothiswonderfulnewworldofpush-
button cooking, cleaning and homemaking... In
thiskitchenyoucanbakeacakeinthreeminutes
...thedishesarescraped,washedanddried
electronically,[and]evenputthemselvesaway,”
so claimed a 1957 promotional film for the RCA-
Whirlpool Miracle Kitchen – promising to
liberatewomenfromdomesticchores“witha
merewaveofherhand”.Ofcourse,thiswasa
HeathRobinson-esquefantasy–theappliances
inthefilmwereoperatedbyremotecontrolfrom
behindatwo-waymirror.Whiletheamountof
automated devices in our homes has increased1over the subsequent decades, we do still have to
put our dishes away ourselves. Change is here
throughinterconnecteddigitaldevicesthatuse
datatheycollectonourbehaviourtopredictour
every need, from ‘smart fridges’ that can order
moremilkwhenwerunlow,tosystemsthat
adjusttheheatingandlightinginanticipationof
our return home.SMALL-SPACE LIVING
Fittingmoreintoless
Thekitchenwasnottheonlyroomexpectedto
shrink. With the urbanisation of populations
and the post-war housing crisis, 20th-century
designersbecameobsessedwithcleverwaysto
fitlifeintoever-decreasingspaces.Nonemoreso
thanJoeColombo,whose1969TotalFurnishing
Unit compressed the entire home into a single
mobile box measuring just 28 square metres.
Theyellowandwhite‘pod’containedkitchen
appliances, bookshelves, a television, a
bathroom,awardrobeandfold-downtwinbeds
–allyouhadtodowasplugitin.Commissioned
byNewYork’sMuseumofModernArt,itstill
sounds pretty out there until you consider that
MINI Living, the architecture arm of the“The dishes are scraped, washed
amd dried electronically and
even put themselves away”2(^1) A 1929 illustration of
a futuristic device to
help a gentleman get
dressed in the
‘automatic home’ of
the future. We’re not
convinced those are
his shoes, however...
(^2) What you need is a
‘robot who does’, like
this Vienna Robot MM7
from the 60 s. H e even
talks while he vacuums.
The downside? You
need a whole room
to keep him in...
PHOTOGRAPHY: MARY EVANS PICTURE LIBRARY; TOPFOTO