In 1926, Frankfurt began installing a new kind of kitchen in its homes.
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Frankfurt → begin → homes
Designed by Austrian architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, the compact, fitted kitchen used built-in cupboards, worktops and carefully arranged storage to make cooking more efficient.
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cooking → design → cupboards
About 10,000 were installed across the German city.
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10,000 → instal → city
A century later, most have disappeared, but volunteers are salvaging surviving fittings and restoring some kitchens in their original homes.
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volunteers → disappear → homes
As reported by Architectural Digest, parts from around 50 Frankfurt Kitchens have been rescued and stored in a warehouse, as conservation specialists work to preserve the design that helped shape the modern fitted kitchen.
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that → report → kitchen
How the Frankfurt Kitchen changed home design
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Kitchen → change → design
The Frankfurt Kitchen was designed as part of ‘Neues Frankfurt,’ a municipal housing programme launched to address the housing shortage after World War I. Architect and urban planner Ernst May led the programme, and Schütte-Lihotzky joined his team in 1925.
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Lihotzky → design → 1925
She was tasked with designing a compact kitchen that could be produced at scale and reduce the time spent on household work.
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that → task → work
Inspired by railway dining-car kitchens and Taylorism, a system that studies work movements to improve efficiency, she arranged the stove, sink, storage and counters to minimise unnecessary steps.
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she → inspire → steps
Measuring approximately 6.2 by 11.3 feet, the kitchen made use of nearly every available space.
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kitchen → measure → space
Shelves above the sink allowed dishes to drain, a removable drawer collected cooking waste, and an ironing board folded away beneath an adjustable ceiling lamp.
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drawer → allow → lamp
Aluminium containers with handles and pouring spouts stored flour, sugar and other dry ingredients.
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containers → pour → flour
The design included an electric stove, built-in cupboards, linoleum flooring and tiled backsplashes intended to make cleaning easier.
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cleaning → include → stove
Its original blue colour was chosen because it was believed to deter flies.
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it → choose → flies
By supplying fitted furniture as part of the apartment, the housing programme also reduced the need for residents to buy and arrange separate kitchen furnishings.
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residents → supply → furnishings
According to the official website of The Victoria and Albert Museum, the Frankfurt Kitchen was the first fitted kitchen produced in mass quantities.
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Kitchen → accord → quantities
A design focused on women's domestic work
Photo credti: Lois Lammerhuber/MAK. Courtesy of MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna
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design → focus → Arts
As reported by Architectural Digest, Schütte-Lihotzky's design addressed a part of domestic life that architecture had often overlooked: the time and effort required to cook and manage a household.
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architecture → report → household
At the time, these tasks were largely treated as women's responsibilities.
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tasks → treat → responsibilities
The kitchen brought them into the centre of architectural planning, aiming to make routine work more efficient.
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work → bring → planning
However, making domestic work more efficient did not change who was expected to do it.
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who → make → it
Steinberger noted that while the design made cooking and cleaning easier, “it didn’t change who was doing the work.”
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who → note → work
The kitchen's influence extended beyond Frankfurt.
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influence → extend → Frankfurt
Its integration of storage, appliances and work surfaces helped establish a model that remains familiar in modern homes, even though materials and technology have changed.
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materials → establish → homes
Why so few original kitchens remain
Many Frankfurt Kitchens were removed as residents renovated their apartments or replaced old fittings.
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residents → remain → fittings
The Ernst-May-Gesellschaft, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the city's architectural heritage, has spent years trying to save what remains.
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what → dedicate → years
Volunteers are alerted when a historic apartment is due for renovation and its kitchen is at risk of being discarded.
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kitchen → alert → risk
The society arranged to receive notifications about kitchens scheduled for removal.
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society → arrange → removal
Its volunteers document each interior before dismantling it, photographing and measuring the room and recording the original fittings.
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volunteers → document → fittings
The salvaged pieces are taken to a warehouse of approximately 2,150 square feet in Frankfurt-Fechenheim.
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pieces → salvage → Fechenheim
There, conservators clean and restore cupboards, handles, screws, lampshades, floor tiles and other components.
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conservators → clean → cupboards
These pieces can later be used to reconstruct kitchens for museums and cultural institutions.
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pieces → use → museums
Keeping the kitchens in their original homes
Preservation efforts have also shifted towards restoring kitchens where they were originally installed.
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they → keep → kitchens
According to Architectural Digest, some historic housing estates and their interiors have received landmark protection, allowing selected kitchens to be repaired and retained in place.
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kitchens → accord → place
Conservator Kerstin Frost is working with architect Kristian Kaffenberger on these projects.
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Frost → work → projects
The aim is to retain original cabinetry while making the kitchens practical for modern use.
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kitchens → retain → use
Updated versions can accommodate refrigerators, dishwashers, extra storage and higher counters.
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versions → update → refrigerators
The original counters were around 31 inches high; restored versions are being raised to approximately 35 inches to suit contemporary needs.
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versions → restore → needs
A century after Schütte-Lihotzky's design was first installed, preservationists are working to ensure that the Frankfurt Kitchen survives not only as a museum object but also as part of the city's living architectural history.
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Kitchen → instal → history
The Aporia
