Optimizing accessibility in the home office: implications of accessible kitchen design literature

Kitchen design is an important phase of the overall field of residential design. On the basis of cost alone, the residential kitchen assumes a role of major import because it is the room with the highest cost per square foot. Moreover, when designing the residential space, expertise in kitchen design is imperative as a result of the predominant role the kitchen typically assumes in the purchase decision. For these reasons, there has been extensive research on kitchen design, and it has been developed and supplemented based on the technological improvements, lifestyle changes and anthropometries. These elements contribute to accessible design features which should be incorporated into the design process. Research and literature on home office design, however, are considerably more limited. Telecommuters are expected to make their own workspace. Therefore, they are confronted with difficulties when creating their home workspace because they lack professional advice. If they began their professional careers in a corporate office building, telecommuters would be unfamiliar with the ways in which the home office environment can be converted into a professional work environment. Kitchens and home offices share many similarities. Computers have made it possible to work at home away from the corporate office, and the new technology brought considerable changes in working style. In the same way, microwave ovens resulted in significant changes in approach to food preparation. In other words, these two inventions brought about epoch improvements in the work efficiency of their respective interiors. Examination of the kitchen in terms of access and efficiency has transformed the way designers approach their development. Kitchen design has become one of the most technically and ergonomically challenging interior design undertakings. Does the humanistic emphasis now focused on kitchens offer important insight into the design of other high criticality in interiors? Specifically, does kitchen accessibility research offer important lessons for the design of equally critical home workspaces? This project will focus on the potential translation of kitchen literature for this purpose