A useful kitchen is one which space has been planned to reduce futile movements that waste time. An efficient circulation plan ease the execution of common tasks and is organised around the triangle of activities.

A well-made kitchen is one that respects both ergonomy and fonctionnality, which are both not to be forgotten in the list of requirements. Common tasks should be done without any mishap, which means to be able to move around a specified space and have everything needed on hand. To gain in comfort and efficiency, we will study a kitchen plan around what we call a triangle of activities.

What is the triangle of activities?
The triangle of activities organises the kitchen to facilitate circulation between the three areas around which most common tasks are done, like for the preparation of meals: the cleaning pole, the cooking pole and the food stockage pole. The objective here is to reduce the distance between the fridge, the sink and the stoves, but also to remove any possible obstacle from the way and avoid bumping into anything. We can even include the work planning area and talk of a diamond of activities, with a fourth zone for preparation.

Optimise your kitchen’s layout
To limit the number of back and forth and tedious movements, the best is to have a working area in an L or U form, with a circulation space of at least 90 cm between every element. The triangle of activities also has to be made with the meal corner taken into consideration. Plan at least 90 cm around the table there too. If we have more space, planning a more comfortable zone of 120 cm will allow to walk easily behind the chairs even while people are sitting. Each activity pole can then be more efficiently arranged.