Equally innovative, the extremely small laboratory kitchens designed by Jacobus Johannes Pi-
eter Oud at Weissenhof, were disciplined studies in ergonomics and functionalism but contained
everything necessary in a modern kitchen. His example was followed by others: Ludwig Mies van der
Rohe, Walter Gropius, Bruno Taut and Le Corbusier. Thus, by the 1930's, the revolutionised kitchen
caught on throughout Europe. There was also a marked tendency to depart from the isolated kitchen
and integrate it into the dwelling's space. Over several decades, the kitchen was transformed from
a large room fitted with cupboards, cabinets, tables, chairs into a small, convenient laboratory finally
to disappear as an isolated utility room. A similar revolution changed the design of other rooms and
bathrooms as well as their furnishings.
Modern interiors seemed empty because they were sparsely appointed, not cluttered with fur-
niture: furnishings designed by architects were simple, functional, and hygienic. Using sequentially
produced furniture pieces was the designers' ideal. In model housing estates, the architects also
designed furniture, lighting and textiles.
101
eter Oud at Weissenhof, were disciplined studies in ergonomics and functionalism but contained
everything necessary in a modern kitchen. His example was followed by others: Ludwig Mies van der
Rohe, Walter Gropius, Bruno Taut and Le Corbusier. Thus, by the 1930's, the revolutionised kitchen
caught on throughout Europe. There was also a marked tendency to depart from the isolated kitchen
and integrate it into the dwelling's space. Over several decades, the kitchen was transformed from
a large room fitted with cupboards, cabinets, tables, chairs into a small, convenient laboratory finally
to disappear as an isolated utility room. A similar revolution changed the design of other rooms and
bathrooms as well as their furnishings.
Modern interiors seemed empty because they were sparsely appointed, not cluttered with fur-
niture: furnishings designed by architects were simple, functional, and hygienic. Using sequentially
produced furniture pieces was the designers' ideal. In model housing estates, the architects also
designed furniture, lighting and textiles.
101