What's not in your kitchen?

The stereotypical kitchen has a sink, range, dishwasher and fridge. However new influences are testing our traditional understanding of the kitchen. Our "mothers" kitchens were simple and the greatest advent was that of the microwave. Increased globalization as well as the immediate access to information has lead to an explosion of technology and ideas for the kitchen. Take a look at some different ideas and see if they are right for you.

Wok Kitchen

One of the major cultural add-ons especially in a market like Vancouver is the addition of the Wok Kitchen. Typically, this is a second room about 6'x8' with a 2 burner gas cooktop. Ideally the room will have a lot of ventilation through a mechanical hood vent and a small sink plumbed in. For families who do a lot of Asian style cooking, the Wok Kitchen provides a required buffer from the main kitchen so that there are not a lot of lingering odours and oils and grease are kept seperate from the main house.

Potfillers

If Italian is more your style, try adding a potfiller to your stove area. The potfiller is an accordion style elbowed tap that comes out of the wall above your stove. Large pasta pots and vegetable pots are easily filled with water at the stove and they make a very cool addition to your stove environment.

Wine fridges

When the pasta is done you may need some wine to complement the meal. Many more North Americans are making wine part of their meal routine. As wine is susceptible to variations in temperature a wine fridge makes an ideal complement to your kitchen. Many small undercounter models are available and can provide a new focus to the end of an island.

Fridge and Freezer drawers

"Fisher Paykal" came out with these drawers a number of years ago and most major appliance companies carry them these days. They provide an alternative to large bulky refrigerators and can be used to top up space for an existing refrigerator. Typically they do not have a lot of volume so they will not remove your fridge from your kitchen. Larger families can take advantage of these storage options by having a second prep centre for cereal etc. with dedicated dairy storage where family members can supply themselves from a subsidiary work station.

Plumbed in coffee makers and expresso machines

Get coffee built in to your cabinets with a plumbed in expresso machine or coffee maker.

Two is better than one

Many higher end homes are installing dedicated freezers and refrigerators. "Sub Zero" now makes seperate freezers and refrigerators which allows more specific space use when designing the kitchen as the freezer does not need to be front and centre. It also means your new kitchen will have to be larger to accomodate two 36" wide units instead of one.

For the bachelors in the crowd can I recommend two dishwashers. One for the clean and one for the dirty. If you take this thinking to its logical conclusion, who needs cabinets. "Kenmore" has come up with the mini version of this which is a two drawer dishwasher for the one person apartment. Again one dirty and one clean.

There are many options when it comes to the kitchen. No doubt our kitchens will keep getting larger and more expensive. The most important rule for the homeowner is that prior to designing your dream kitchen, make sure you are aware of the possibilities that will suit both your lifestyle and your budget and make your kitchen match your culinary requirements.

Terminal City-Vancouver as the model of the new global city - part I

Terminal City , the aptly provided moniker of Vancouver, is indicative of its edge status. Vancouver, throughout its history, has been the backwater of the dominant economic forces of the time. In its youth it battled with San Francisco for gold rush dollars. In its post war growth it succumbed to the influence of Eastern Canada. In its most recent incarnation it accepted its role as outpost to Hong Kong. Vancouver is like the stereotypical vacuous blonde supermodel that is beautiful but suffers from a lack of substance between the ears.

Consequently the economic structure of Vancouver is uninfluential. There are relatively few corporate head offices compared to "local" competitors like Seattle and Calgary. With corporate dominance low, Vancouver has thrived on a very different ethos in the way its citizens approach life and lifestyle. Small business is the predominant form of business and equality of citizens across the urban mosaic is the cultural norm. In fact, libertarian ideology (apolitical) is rampant in the city and forms a very different mindset than prototypical North American cities.

However, Vancouver's beauty and the attractiveness of its stable real estate (comparatively) makes it a good place for off-shore money to invest personal resources. The worldly libertarian view and Canadian Immigration policies have enhanced the large influx of immigrants largely from Hong Kong, mainland China, India and South Korea. In fact, visible minorities now form the majority in Vancouver and consequently the city has a large reach to the rest of the world.  Unlike many world metropolitan centres, Vancouver has achieved this with a relatively low threshold of racism.

With the rise of the information age, Vancouver's global reach is further enhanced while small business is empowered. Internet usage rates in British Columbia according to Statistics Canada are around 85% in 2010. The numbers are approaching 90% in the Greater Vancouver itself. These numbers are among the highest in North America.

Unencumbered by slow moving corporate behemoths and the associated political baggage, Vancouver has the ability to react with speed in its own interest and turn its smaller more nimble economic structure to its favour . It will be important that the political elites  federally, provincially, and municipally buy into the economic reincarnation. Individuals and companies are ready to establish business links with the rest of the world. with a larger professional and tertiary workforce perhaps the model will be smart as well as good looking.

Living Walls and Roofs and the Cult of Eco

Green is the new mantra of the age. Sometimes green ideas are wise while others are just passing fads. It is important to get the widest context possible and don't believe the hype unless they can prove it to you. Passion and philosophy will always work better than adhering to the green inventory checklist.

About 2 years ago, I was in Napa Valley sampling the local finery (vinery) while attending a trade show in San Francisco. Whenever I visit California, I am always amazed, how new ideas resonate with the public there. I always get the sense that they are less discriminating while more eager to embrace the "new." This stands in stark contrast to the reserved design ethos of Vancouver.

The group of architects that had joined me in Yountville, were all drawn to a new building that turned out to be a hotel called "Bardessono."(www.bardessono.com) We strolled in checking out all the newest in design. The idea behind the hotel was that it was energy neutral and LEED platinum (wow!). One of the things that interested me were the living walls. Not only did they minimize heat gain but provided a certain amount of air quality enhancement and were appealing to look at.

                                        

                                           Small example of the Bardessono Living Wall 

                                         Solar heated pool at Bardessono 
                                         (image credits - www.bardessono.com)

The firm I worked with at the time, Synthesis Design, had recently completed a green roof installation on our office in North Vancouver with NATS Nursery . We were all amazed with the effect this had in cooling our office without the aid of air conditioning. It was a logical solution to a dilemma and made for a really nice place to hang out in the summer . Seeing this reinterpretation on the walls of the hotel was interesting and the unending list of both green ideas and design were heartening.

Having returned to San Francisco the following day, the group attended a tour of green houses. We were picked up in Downtown San Francisco and drove for 1 hour to tract housing suburbia (my first clue). Many of the green amenities included such items as low VOC paints (o.k), bamboo floors (o.k), and double paned windows (so) and recycling bins (huh!). When recycling bins become a green feature, you have to scratch your head. It was clear that green in this development meant an itemized checklist of saleable features that you could repackage and put on a brochure.

Moral of the story: Do it right or don't do it at all.( I am sure the emissions of the one hour commute each day would far outweigh the benefit of the recycling bins)

Don't break the bank - RBC says #1 regret after reno is budget overrun

Twice as long and double the cost? That's the conventional wisdom meted out to homeowners by anyone who hears they're doing a renovation -- and it seems there may be some truth to that for those who don't do their homework.

Homeowners that responded to an RBC report say their number one regret is breaking the budget. Your house is most likely your biggest investment, but most homeowners don't spend nearly enough time thinking about creating value and monitoring renovation expenses as they should.

Before you start any renovation, you should have an itemized budget with expected costs for materials, services and contingency. Renovations, especially large ones, are complex projects. The more organized you can be about expenses and setting firm budgets for items, the better you can plan for your renovation. Over the time of your project, there is a tendency for homeowners to make decisions in isolation with minor cost overruns. Many seemingly innocuous decisions over time can add up to large financial headaches at the end of the project when your resources will be at a minimum.

Contingency should be set a minimum 10-15% above projected expenses, and audits should be conducted weekly or bi-weekly to ensure the project is within budgetary guidelines. Quite often, big expenses occur at the end of the project, where more expensive finishing items come into play.

Always remember when choosing a contractor to get references from previous clients, and ask those references whether they experienced cost overruns. If they did, what proportion do they attribute to their own decision-making versus the contractor. Due diligence can make all the difference to a renovation you'll live with for many years. If you're unsure, enlist a project manager. It's an extra cost for the overall project, but can make a huge difference for a successful outcome.

The Zoning Ritual

Whenever designing a contemporary house, before fashioning any ideas, thoughts, or goals, there is the need to complete the inevitable zoning site checklist. Zoning acts as both a physical and political construct to any project. It strives to create a democratic playing field for the architect to generate designs but within the larger city context.

Often these goals seem arbitrary at best. They represent the need to create a political order to the city landscape at macro scale while creating a framework at the micro scale. The two, in their own realms seem unrelated. However as a whole they can be seen as the fabric of our urban reality.

Rather than decrying the system, it is really up to the architect to question the rules themselves. Zoning guidelines are created to be generic so that they can apply to the majority of situations. The extent of grey area within them is quite large. I have found that if you review the rules carefully, they will often contradict each other despite the legal writing. When you present this to the building official they usually have three responses:

1. No (in which you are out of luck unless you push it to another level)
2. I will take that under consideration (which is then referred to some committee for review)
3. You are correct

I have found this to be the case throughout the jurisdictions I deal with in the Greater Vancouver region. By questioning the system and its nuance, it is possible to let the system capitulate to the specific situation. After all, the general principles of the bylaws are upheld while the idiosyncracy of the bureaucrats come into question. Most building officials realize that this is the case and they recognize that bylaws contain a certain organic quality that breathe and grow over time with the changing swell of public sentiment.