The Smart Kitchen, 2nd Edition

Kitchen Design Getting Smarter

by David Goldbeck, 1994. Ceres Press, Woodstock, NY. Softcover, 134 pages, $15.95.

Since it first appeared in 1989,

The Smart Kitchen has been a very useful source of information on practical kitchen design and equipment. The concise book has always had a strong focus on energy efficiency; the new edition has added lots of information on other environmental issues.

Many of the book’s 15 chapters include a new section, “Environmental Choices,” which addresses indoor air quality issues as they relate to materials used in kitchens. Counter material selection, cabinet construction (with or without formaldehyde offgassing), and flooring are among the materials discussed in these sections.

The general kitchen design information in

The Smart Kitchen will be particularly useful to the environmentally aware designer. The discussion of natural daylighting is good, as are the recommendations on shading to prevent overheating.

Some of the energy information in the 2nd edition is a bit dated, such as that on the national energy efficiency standards for appliances—the 1993 standards for refrigerators are not mentioned—and the experimental vacuum insulation is incorrectly described as being like Thermopane glass. We also considered some of Goldbeck’s recommendations unrealistic—such as adding extra insulation to refrigerators and rewiring a refrigerator to provide control of the anti-condensation shell heater. But for the most part, the book is extremely well researched and accurate.

One of the most useful new sections of the book is one dealing with kitchen recycling and composting equipment. The book describes a number of practical designs for recycling centers, including some that provide access from an adjoining garage or utility room. Not surprisingly, Goldbeck is down on trash compactors. Instead of in-sink garbage disposals, he suggests a number of composting options.

If you’ve always had a dislike for microwave ovens,

The Smart Kitchen provides some ammunition you can use in convincing clients to steer away from them. In six pages of why-nots and operational warnings, Goldbeck makes the case that they really provide little energy savings (no savings over electric cooktops); they pose significant safety and health risk; they result in food packaging waste (4.7 billion plastic food containers for microwave cooking disposed of in 1991); and they are horrible to cook with (Goldbeck and his wife are widely published cookbook authors).

The Smart Kitchen includes useful references of equipment suppliers (not as comprehensive as we would have liked), articles, and publications, as well as layout templates to help in kitchen design. Anyone who designs or builds kitchens, or is involved in recommending kitchen appliances should have this book.