Close Ad

The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Johnny Grey

This U.K. Team Created a Multigenerational Kitchen That Adapts to the Needs of Any Age

For senior citizens, one of the biggest challenges of independent living is getting around in the kitchen. Decreased mobility can make it hard to access what you need to make a meal, while everyday occurrences, like slippery surfaces, become potentially perilous.

At the same time, kitchens also present challenges and dangers for the young ones, too. Whether it’s high countertops or a drawer full of sharp knives, small children need to be constantly monitored when they are in the kitchen.

But what if you have a home where inhabitants of these opposite ends of the age spectrum both live?

That’s the scenario designer Johnny Grey and Professor Peter Gore, an expert on ageing, wanted to answer when they started working on a concept for a multigenerational kitchen in 2017. The two noticed that more generations were living under one roof in their country and elsewhere in the world, so they started to think about how a kitchen space could serve the diverse needs of multiple generations and age groups.

With support from the U.K.’s National Innovation Centre for Ageing, they set about envisioning a kitchen that would factor in all the various needs and adapt to those needs depending on who was using it. The first thing they did was interview families to identify what types of challenges they would face.

“Rather than focussing on why people have problems, we focused on the problems people have,” said Gore. “This gave us the insight that we needed to move to the design stage.”

After the research phase, the group set about building a prototype with funding from a national consortium of universities.

Some of the features the kitchen concept includes are:

Cook anywhere surfaces. The prototype incorporates induction heating and cordless power (like that developed by the Wireless Power Consortium) technology in a number of surfaces. While those not familiar with induction heating may think this sounds dangerous, it’s much safer than gas or electric since the cooking surface doesn’t get hot.

Adjustable height countertops. The prototype has multiple adaptable height countertops. This idea of adaptable or personalized space is one I’ve noticed getting traction in recent years, and it really makes sense for a multigenerational kitchen.

Smart assistants. The prototype makes use of smart voice assistants such as the Amazon Alexa, but gives the assistants some operating context by giving specific control permissions depending on who is accessing what.

The combination of cutting edge features with warmer design featured like soft-edged counters and memory-era wallpaper resulted in a kitchen prototype that designer Grey felt was both welcoming and functional.

“The furniture is very flexible and it’s responsive – it can behave in a way which works well for you and your family,” said Grey. “It’s about a living space, much more than just a kitchen.”

Despite the fact that more generations living under one roof has continued to increase, like many industries, the home design space is often too fixated on building towards the needs of a single generation in mind. Grey and Gore hope this prototype can influence more home designers and builders to build with multiple generations in minds.

“You can often find examples of homes that are designed and built with a specific age group in mind such as homes for older people, or apartments targeted at young professionals,” said Gore. “We think there is potential to shift design and construction away from thinking about building properties for just one or two generations toward building for multigenerational homes.”

You can take a look at the building of the prototype and hear from Gore and Grey in the video below.

The four generation kitchen prototype - enhancing home life through kitchen design

Johnny Grey Gives Us a Walk-Through of ‘The Evening Kitchen’ (Spoon Plus)

And I have to say, that’s how I felt the other day hearing Johnny Grey describe how he thinks about design. We got together over Zoom and he walked me through his latest design concepts, called “The Evening Kitchen,” and I was pulled in as Johnny described a kitchen design process that worked to summon all five senses in creating more warm and welcoming environments.

This Spoon Plus Deep Dive conversation is available only to Spoon Plus subscribers. Purchase a Spoon Plus membership to get access to this exclusive content and much more.

Johnny Grey on the Post-COVID Kitchen: No Cabinets, Bigger Pantries, More Pleasure

With COVID keeping many of us at home, kitchens are taking on a bigger role than ever before. They’re not just the place we cook meals; they’re also our offices, a place to teach kids homework, the background of our Zoom video calls as we cook along with family.

Considering we’ve long considered the kitchen the heart of the home, it’s no surprise that they’re shifting as we spend more and more time homebound. But how will the kitchen transform to better suit our new needs during quarantine?

To answer that question we turned to Johnny Grey, a British design leader specializing in — you guessed it — kitchens. Today Grey (and a few surprise guests) joined us for our latest Spoon Virtual Event, titled The Future of Kitchen Design in a Post-COVID19 World. He talked about some of the constants of kitchen design, how to embrace the DIY, and how the kitchen is a sort of “3D timepiece.” Here are a few of the highlights:

Fewer cabinets, more pantries
If there’s one part of conventional kitchen design that Grey absolutely hates, it’s cabinets. He thinks they take up too much space in the core of the kitchen itself, which should be a more social space.

In fact, Grey’s overarching goal with kitchen design seems to be to make it a more pleasant space for gathering. To that end, he’s a big fan of kitchen islands (or peninsulas), ideally ones with adjustable heights that can go from a bar space to a dining table.

When asked what he thought we could learn from the past, Grey answered in one word: pantries. He likes a walk-in pantry because you can see things in front of you — like all those bulk bags of dry goods you bought — and you don’t have to rely on dreaded cabinets to store everything.

Where does smart tech fit in?
For Grey, smart tech does have a role to play in kitchens of the future. Specifically when it comes to two things: precision and safety. Grey also emphasized that kitchen technology can help generations age in place. If individuals can cook for themselves, he theorizes that they won’t have to move to assisted living facilities as quickly — thus keeping them home for longer.

Photo: Innit and Sharp

The kitchen as a timepiece
During the virtual event Grey unveiled a new concept he’s been working on. Called the Evening Kitchen, he explained that the kitchen has multiple different lives during each 24-hour cycle. During the day it may be an area for quick meal prep, but in the evening it morphs into a bistro, a nightclub, or even a quiet living room, depending on the circumstances. Grey calls the kitchen a sort of “3D timepiece.”

For that reason, the evening kitchen must look different than the kitchen of daytime. Grey talks about the power of lighting, which gives intimacy, as well as smell and music to transform the space. If you’re curious you can watch his video explaining the concept here.

Especially now, embrace joy
Especially now, kitchens should be a place of joy. “It should be a pleasure to use your kitchen,” Grey said. To make it pleasurable, designers should think about touch, ease of movement, and even color. They could set up places to set a chair in the sun. Consumers themselves can do a lot to improve their kitchen. “Embrace the DIY,” Grey told the audience.

Grey also urged listeners not to put too much pressure on themselves to de-clutter, especially now that the kitchen table is also a coworking space and/or classroom. “It’s not really how people can live,” he said.

Overall, it was a fascinating conversation and — bonus — you get to enjoy Grey’s soothing British accent. You can watch the full video below.

Kitchen Design in a Post-COVID World: A Conversation with Kitchen Designer Johnny Grey

Finally, don’t forget to mark your calendar for our next event on May 21st 10am PT, when Gingko Bioworks program director Sudeep Agarwala will talk about fermentation as a food tech platform.