The Kitchen Work Triangle

Some Kitchen Jargon: "Work Triangle"

An often-noted consideration to make when deciding on the layout of your kitchen is the concept of the 'work triangle'. That is, the fridge (food storage), the stove (food preparation) and the sink (clean up), should be placed on three separate walls (or two walls and an island), forming a triangle when a line is drawn between them. The smaller the kitchen work triangle, the smaller the walking space between them (below are suggested measurements between the three 'points'). Of course, some kitchens will not be able to accommodate this type of layout.

The notion of the work triangle arose out of a desire to create optimum efficiency in the kitchen - each point represents a step in the sequence of food flow in the kitchen. Although the 'work triangle' has been a popular concept in kitchen design since the middle of last century, there has been some move away from this notion in contemporary kitchen planning. Today, the typical kitchen will incorporate many more appliances (such as dishwasher, microwave and espresso machine), so that each work zone (food storage, food preparation and clean up) will contain more than a single key appliance. Today's space planners, therefore, are gradually being more influenced by getting 'work zones' in order, rather than maximising the 'work triangle'. Of course, consideration should be made for both concepts of kitchen efficiency - although some compromise is inevitable.