Compromising building regulations and user expectations in the design of high-rise domestic kitchens

Purpose ??? The purpose of this paper is to discuss the significance and relevance of social and habitual behaviours of home occupants to the building design process. It argues that introducing quantitative measures such as daylight level alone may not result in a ???healthy and functional??? kitchen without appreciating or factoring-in the impacts of the social roles and user expectations of kitchens in high-rise and compact urban situations.\ud Design/methodology/approach ??? The study investigated three common types of apartment buildings in Hong Kong. Case studies suggested that it is crucial to include in a design process proper considerations of human behaviours byway of preferred approaches andmodes of living, space usage, and weightings of end-user responses that would influence architectural design in a direct and crucial way.\ud Findings ??? The study noted that daylight quality of a kitchen is perceived by most families to be not as important as building control officials and designers thought it would. Instead, it is found that social and cultural factors are more important parameters for users. The study observed that designers rely on physical and quantitative approaches such as daylight factor, window size and window-to-room area ratio to qualify a design solution and ignore the socio-cultural parameters.\ud Originality/value ??? The paper calls for designers and building control officials to incorporate the study of functionality and socio-cultural preferences of users groups in the building design process. The study envisages that an integrated design methodology would enhance the living environment

Reconsidering Daylighting Design Parameters for Tall Buildings in a Densely Built City

Hong Kong presents a unique case of high-density living, featuring a compact urban form utilizing an extremely small percentage (21%) of total land area. Physically, the city is a mixing pot of commercial, office and residential buildings built along narrow streets, governed by a laissez-faire property market mechanism that reflects a mixed and intensive land-use pattern. The resultant urban form creates an unprecedented challenge for environmental amenities and in particular for daylight for skyscrapers. The paper discusses problems and underlying causes of daylight performance for kitchens under high-rise building scenarios. The kitchen is the subject of concern because it is claimed to be the worst lit space in prevailing high-rise building design. Besides focusing on socio-cultural expectations, the physical design of kitchens was examined critically, including the positioning, size and area of windows, reflectance and internal obstructions such as shelves and utility items, room area and room configuration. The concluding remarks make specific reference to socio-cultural factors concerning the usage of kitchens. It is the intention of this paper to use the kitchen as a proxy to illustrate the inherent problems and difficulties in directing daylight for different habitable spaces (bedrooms, living and dining rooms, as well as kitchens) in densely built, high-rise urban environments