99% Invisible The Frankfurt Kitchen
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Jun 20, 2023 
Katie Thornton, a Peabody Award-winning reporter, dives into the groundbreaking design of the Frankfurt Kitchen, hailed as the first modern kitchen. She explores how this innovative space transformed domestic life for women post-World War I, reflecting changing gender roles and urban planning ideals. The conversation reveals its architectural significance while addressing the complexities of women's unpaid labor. Thornton also sheds light on lesser-known figures behind its creation and examines its lasting impact on domestic design amid evolving societal pressures.
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Museum Visit
- Reporter Katie Thornton visited a Frankfurt Kitchen at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
- The kitchen featured a modern stove, ample storage, a double sink, and continuous countertops, all novel for the time.
Feminist Design
- Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, one of Austria's first female architects, designed the Frankfurt Kitchen.
- She aimed to create a streamlined space to reduce women's kitchen burdens, enabling them to pursue outside interests.
Kitchen Abolition Debate
- Schütte-Lihotzky's approach differed from earlier feminists.
- They questioned if kitchens could liberate women or if they should be abolished.