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Skyline Lab Wheelchair-Friendly Kitchen Design

By Rain Noe - April 16, 2012

in Object Culture

The snazzy-looking Skyline Lab kitchen is designed specifically for the wheelchair-bound, providing a high level of functionality without sacrificing style. Produced by Italian manufacturer Snaidero, the kitchen features tons of thoughtful design touches that place everything within reach for the chef who cannot stand, tiptoe, or crouch to dig through the back of a low cabinet.

There are no cabinets at all beneath the sweeping counter, allowing a wheelchair user to belly right up to the surface; the shallow sink basin leaves plenty of room for legs. A garbage can on wheels and a roll-out shelf unit can be maneuvered in and out of the way.

The circular shelves provide Lazy-Susan-like storage, allowing whatever's in the back to be quickly brought to the front. They are purposely left unenclosed so the user can see where everything is.

The oven features a pull-out shelf beneath it; whereas a standing user might pull something hot out of the oven and quickly walk it over to a counter, the wheelchair user needs to set the hot thing down momentarily to readjust for a mobility direction change, which the shelf provides time for.

Lastly, the dishwasher gets the pull-out drawer treatment, rather than the typical bottom-hinged door which can be awkward to manage from a wheelchair.

The demonstration video features a ridiculous and unnecessary soft-rock soundtrack, but does helpfully visualize how the various design features come into play:

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Jennie Jones

5 years ago

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This is an awesome improvement to help their lives easier and a lot more smoother transitioning from one to another. One part of suggestion would be the trash can while they are fabulous on wheels; could it possibly be a soft handle on the side for pushing and or pulling? Just a thoughtful suggestion. Thank you for all the hard work, time and effort that you have done with this beautiful design.

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jamie

12 years ago

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as a architectural designer that has done 100+ environmental modifications to homes w/ children and adults w/ physical disabilities i can truly appreciate the thought and creativity that went into the design of this accessible kitchen... very well thought out!
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product tank

12 years ago

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Some good features, but watching the woman struggle to lift and drain the pan of boiling water into the sink looked like it could be a serious scalding hazard. Having a utensil rack at the back of the hob, so you'd have to reach over potentially hot/steaming pans, is not good placement. Otherwise, nice.
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Karthik

12 years ago

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Simple and thoughtful. I liked the utensil shelve attachment to the right.The same could be used for a work desk. Love it :) great work
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