Kitchen Triangle

 

Is the Kitchen Work Triangle Dead? In brief, the answer is no. It has simply evolved to be adaptable to the ever changing landscape of kitchen design, able to incorporate the latest technology in appliances and flexible enough to conform to the wishes of multiple users.

Clark Construction shares some great info on Kitchen Triangles and finding your comfort "Zone" in the kitchen.

What is the Work Triangle and What Is Its History?

Since the introduction of indoor plumbing and refrigeration, kitchen design has followed a basic "Work Triangle" principle as the foundation for most kitchen layouts. Traditionally, the goal of a good kitchen design has been to place the three most common work sites at the most efficient distance apart and to minimize traffic through the work zone.

These three most common work sites are refrigerated food storage, cleaning and cooking. Together they form the three main points that create the “triangle”. If you place these too far from each other you create unnecessary steps during meal preparation. If they are too close to each other you may create a cramped place in which to work. The basic guidelines of the Work Triangle are as follows: -Each side of the triangle should be between 4 and 9 feet -The total of all three sides should be between 12 and 26 feet -

Each side should be clear of any obstructions - Household traffic should not flow through the work triangle Insert Illustration of Basic Layout Saved on server in folder: Blog Articles for Website, “Basic Triangle”. Saved as both a pdf and a jpeg not sure which you need to publish. What About Now? Looks and sounds like a fairly simple concept to follow, right? Well it is not that simple anymore. As advancements in technology affect other aspects of our lives, so does it impact the” traditional work triangle”.

The triangle was built on the premise that we had one sink, one refrigerator and one stove. If only we were content keeping things simple. When Thermador introduced their refrigeration “towers” a few years back it threw another wrench into the equation. For the first time in residential kitchen design the freezer and refrigerator did not have to be attached like Siamese twins. If they are not placed in the same location how do you know which to use as a point in laying out the triangle? What if you want wall ovens with a separate cook top, a second sink or refrigerator drawers for fresh produce?

Let's consider what adding that second sink does to the layout. Do we define the sink point as the ”main” sink with the dishwasher adjacent to it, or the auxiliary sink on the island if it is placed closer to the cook top for use in preparing meals? What if you put a second dishwasher on the island next to this sink? Imagine how complicated it is going to get when you start to add warming drawers and microwave ovens.

Overlaying Triangles: Get in the Zone

Sometimes the more complicated things get the more you need to keep it simple and go back to basics. In designing kitchens for our Clark Construction clients, we use the principles of the basic kitchen triangle but add a twist to adapt to today’s larger kitchen layouts. Often we “overlay” triangles within the space.

By prioritizing what is important to you we create multiple triangles that define the zones used by various people in the kitchen.

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