The Woman Who Changed it All

The evolution of kitchens began with fire, which became a key source of cooking, heat, and light in the earliest human existence. This fundamental change transformed how early humans lived, setting the stage for the development of cooking spaces.

Another major shift occurred during the late Middle Ages, around the 12th to 14th centuries, when chimneys became widespread. This innovation allowed for better ventilation, making indoor cooking and heating more efficient and paving the way for safer and more practical cooking spaces.

In 1926, Austrian architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky designed the “Frankfurt Kitchen,” revolutionizing modern kitchen layouts. Created for public housing in Frankfurt, Germany, the design prioritized efficiency and hygiene. The compact, modular kitchen featured built-in storage, workspaces, and new technologies like electric stoves, which were becoming popular in Europe. It was specifically designed to streamline workflow and minimize movement for a single cook, maximizing space in small homes.

The Frankfurt Kitchen was an instant success and quickly became the model for modern kitchen design. Today, Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky’s legacy lives on in every modern kitchen, and her contributions to architecture and design continue to inspire new generations of designers. While kitchens have become more modern with increasingly sophisticated appliances, many designers still return to the same concepts that Margarete used in her groundbreaking design. The Frankfurt Kitchen has set the standard for modern kitchen design and will always be remembered as an innovative milestone.