M. C. Spross

This is an individual project completed over a four week period during the Fall 2008 semester. The kitchen is located in a Seattle residence for a single parent family with two teenagers, one of which is wheelchair bound. The kitchen connects to the living room without any barriers to wheelchair access. The kitchen has a unique quadrilateral shape that helps maximize reflected natural light in the space as well as framing the space's stunning southfacing view of Seattle's Cascade mountain range. This curtain wall is made of doubled-glazed, high solar gain glass with a low-e coating and provides natural light all day long and moderate solar heating during the winter months. In addition the curtain wall provides access to the deck by doors on either end that allow for a natural circulation comfortable for a wheelchair. The deck has a small planter for an herb garden as well as providing an outdoor eating space to enjoy Seattle's mild climate. The decking as well as all of the kitchen's flooring and cabinetry are made from Douglas-fir, native to the Seattle area. The kitchen is designed to create a cooking work flow that feels natural to those in and out of wheelchairs as well facilitating face to face communication. The work flow starts on the west wall where the refrigerator, freezer, oven, microwave and some of the pantry space are located. There is a counter top pull in area for the wheelchair located in between the refrigerator and oven to provide for a space to transfer uncomfortably hot or cold items to, while minimizing risk of injury. All the appliances and drawers are positioned to be within comfortable reaching distance for someone in a wheelchair. The work flow continues from the west wall to the centrally located island where all food preparation and cooking take place. On the island there are two different counter heights; a large 32” high area, comfortable for wheelchair bound cooking and for most normal cooking activities, and a smaller 36” high section meant to comfortably accommodate precise cooking activities for those not in wheelchairs. The lower section has a sink that can be safely wheeled under. The sink is located next to a two element cooktop making it easy to add water to hot pots. The cooktop is flush with the counter surface so that cookware can be slid on and off of the surface without the danger of lifting heavy and hot materials. The higher section has a two element cooktop as well facing its counterpart on the lower level. This high/low counters with facing cooking areas create parallel work flows and facilitates communication at all stages of cooking. At the end of the island there is a space for eating. Against the east wall there is a lounge seating area that can be broken up into three seats and pulled up to the end of the island to make a unique and comfortable dinner table. The east wall is also home to three large drawers of pantry space as well as two shelves reachable from a wheelchair that house the utensils and dish ware. The east wall is a pure white painted plywood surface that helps bounce natural light throughout the room. The smooth stucco ceiling shares the same white, reflective color and slants back towards the house to help with naturally lighting the room. When the outdoor climate is comfortable the upper portion of the curtain wall can be opened as awning windows that allows hot air to escape from the space.