Exploring the Dutch Bruynzeel Kitchen Through the Negotiations of Its Two Designers, Limperg and Zwart

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Issue Vol. 7 No. 2 (2024)
Published Jul 30, 2024
Section Articles
Article downloads 217
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7454/in.v7i2.448
Submitted : Jan 5, 2024 | Accepted : May 27, 2024
Selin Geerinckx
University of Antwerp, Belgium
selin.geerinckx@uantwerpen.be
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9521-5666
Els De Vos
University of Antwerp, Belgium
els.devos@uantwerpen.be
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1583-3294

Abstract

During the interwar period, numerous endeavours were made to develop a rational kitchen, also called a laboratory kitchen, namely one that prioritised labour-saving efficiency through thoughtful layout and design. Catherine Beecher's work is often credited as its starting point. By synthesising household reformers' experiences and architects’ design expertise, scholars have extensively examined how rational kitchens evolved. This paper discusses the conception of the standardised Dutch Bruynzeel Kitchen (1938) by the collaborative efforts of two designers with distinct yet complementary interior design profiles. Renowned Dutch designer Piet Zwart, widely recognised for his contributions, finalised the technical drawings and promotional materials for this iconic kitchen. Less acknowledged is the early involvement of Dutch architect Koen Limperg, son of a business economics professor, who drew the preliminary designs. Interestingly, this kitchen design was developed while body culture emerged in the Netherlands. Complementing already existing research from art history, anthropology, the history of technology, and gender studies, this paper, based on literature and archive research, investigates through an interior design lens how both designers integrated their respective practices and expertise into the Bruynzeel Kitchen's design, incorporating elements of physical activities (dance, gym, sports) and household economics.

Keywords: rational kitchen, home economics, ergonomics, scenography, physical activity

Article Details

How to Cite
Geerinckx, S., & De Vos, E. (2024). Exploring the Dutch Bruynzeel Kitchen Through the Negotiations of Its Two Designers, Limperg and Zwart. Interiority, 7(2), 125–150. https://doi.org/10.7454/in.v7i2.448
Author Biographies

Selin Geerinckx, University of Antwerp, Belgium

Selin Geerinckx holds an MSc. in Interior Architecture (KU Leuven) and is currently a doctoral researcher affiliated with the Interior Architecture programme and the Henry Van de Velde Research Group at the University of Antwerp. In her research, she investigates avant-garde domestic interiors from the perspective of interior architecture by focusing on body movement. She published in Home Cultures and Interiors in the era of Covid-19 on the radio gym classes by choreographer Lea Daan. Her paper on Belgian abstract painter Jozef Peeters’ atelier flat was recently published in the Serbian Architectural Journal. Selin presented at a Modern Interiors Research Centre webinar, the 17th International Docomomo Conference, and a Design History Society symposium. In the dance discipline, Selin gave a scenography workshop to the international master of dance at the Antwerp Royal Conservatoire. She also participated in several Pina Bausch Foundation initiatives, e.g., Wundertal and A Dancers’ Day (Boris Charmatz), Symbiosen (raumlaborberlin), Something New – Neue Materialen and Something Blue – Kunst der Zukunft (Bund der Szenografen), and will be participating in Cercles (Boris Charmatz).

Els De Vos, University of Antwerp, Belgium

Els De Vos is a Professor in History and Theory of Interior Architecture and Architecture at the University of Antwerp, where she chairs the interior architecture programme. Her research is situated in the field of history and theory of architecture and interior architecture, home culture, gender, and public space in the second half of the twentieth century. Her PhD on the architectural, social, and gender-differentiated mediation of dwelling in 1960s–1970s Belgian Flanders was published in 2012 by Leuven University Press. She has published in several journals, including The Journal of Interior Design, Interiors, and Home Cultures. She is the co-editor of several books and special issues, including Theory by Design: Architectural Research Made Explicit in the Design Studio (Antwerp University Press, 2013) and a theme issue on Middle Class Mass Housing (Docomomo Journal, 2023). She has co-curated several exhibitions, most recently Female Symbols and Urban Space (Brussels, 2021). For the European Council of Interior Architects (ECIA), she led a research project on the professionalisation of interior architecture in Europe.

References

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