A Gas Cilinder and A Kitchen Unmatched
A setup we observed in Bangalore. You can see there is a gas cylinder that is distributed to every household with a gas consumer card and a gas cooker. “I don’t understand,” said my Indian friend, “Whoever built this kitchen should know that every household comes with one of these gas cylinders. Why don’t they think about setting up one shelf so we could fit this in?” Indeed, height-wise, these cylinders appear they could make way underneath the kitchen countertops; yet because of the narrow shelf doors they have placed, there is no chance these bulky nuisance gas tanks could be hidden anywhere.
The observation does reminded me, that being under a certain environment, is one thing, and making use of that unconsciously accumulated knowledge and to reflect it onto your work, is another thing. Had the constructor had the imagination about a resident, who tries to work around the kitchen he has made; had he considered the resident’s satisfaction and reflected his learning and made the kitchen so that it will accommodate a gas cylinder that would be there all the time; the ergonomics of the space could have been so much better. At least, I would not have had to worry about myself hitting against the tank every morning.
